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Ricochet •

Ontario court ruling highlights need for improved migrant worker housing

In a decision recognizing migrant farm workers as “exceptionally vulnerable” and a priority population, the Ontario divisional court has restored an order that caps the number of migrant farm workers isolating in a bunkhouse at three people during the 14-day quarantine period required of all travellers arriving in Canada.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolk medical officer of health, issued the order on March 24 to help contain the spread of COVID-19 in Haldimand and Norfolk counties, where approximately 200 migrant farm workers have tested positive for COVID-19 to date and one worker, Juan López Chaparro, has died. Across Ontario, over 1,200 agricultural workers have contracted the virus and at least three, all from Mexico, have died from it.
Briarpatch Magazine •

The cost of a T-shirt

“Empleo si, pero con dignidad!”The chant comes from a group of about 40 women in Choloma, Honduras, who have assembled outside the offices of Delta Apparel, a multinational garment company. Calling for “jobs, but with dignity,” they are demanding that the company reinstate three workers who were fired. The workers say the firings are illegal and discriminatory because they suffered from workplace injuries.

The sun is hot and a man stands beside the rally selling bags of water. The women pass a megaphone around and take turns
Upping the Anti •

Making sense of the protests in Cuba

In the last few weeks, Cubans have poured out into the streets in relatively large numbers denouncing scarce access to food, medicine, and other necessities in the country. While turnout was perhaps small compared to mass demonstrations in other Latin American countries, it was nonetheless significant for a country where protest is effectively illegal and unsanctioned demonstrations are rare.

While many protesters have been critical of the government’s handling of the country’s economic crisis, other Cubans organized demonstrations in support of the state administration, led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and in support of the Cuban Revolution more broadly.

News and Commentary


Planeta A •

Por qué Canadá está en el centro de las atrocidades mineras mundiales

«Nací y viví más de la mitad de mi vida en Lepanto, donde se encuentra la mina Lepanto Consolidated», dijo Chandu Claver, defensor de la tierra indígena, en una presentación grabada para los asistentes al lanzamiento virtual el 19 de abril de la Coalición Internacional por los Derechos Humanos en Filipinas – capítulo de Toronto (ICHRP-Toronto).

Según Claver, la empresa minera filipina Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corporation ha trabajado estrechamente con la empresa canadiense Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.
Ricochet •

Our extradition system is broken, and Hassan Diab is paying with his life

An Ottawa professor caught in a 13-year legal battle that saw him under house arrest and then in a French prison now faces the possibility of a second extradition to France, despite recognition from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that “what happened to him never should have happened.”

Today France’s Supreme Court ordered that Hassan Diab must stand trial for the 1980 bombing of the rue Copernic synagogue in France, going against four anti-terrorism judges and even the country’s Advocate General, who had argued for Diab’s release given the insufficient evidence in the case.
The Report Magazine •

100 years ago: The world surrounding the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919

2019 marks the 100th year anniversary off the Winnipeg General Strike, when 35,000 unionized and non-unionized workers in Winnipeg walked off the job in support of striking building and metal workers.

Beginning May 15, 1919, and lasting over six weeks, the Winnipeg General Strike is a landmark historical event recognized for its expressions of working class solidarity across the city’s industrial sectors, with thousands of workers from other provinces, including British Columbia, mobilizing in
The Report Magazine •

Network of healthcare professionals delivers care to people with precarious status

Ingrid Mendez and her partner didn’t come here from Guatemala because they thought Canada was a beautiful country.

“I’m not saying it’s not,” she explained. “No, we’re here because we were forced to leave. We came here because w e needed to save our lives and those of our families.”

Now Mendez works actively to support migrant communities who are struggling to access basic services in BC. She serves as the executive director of Watari Counselling and Support Services in Vancouver and is an act
The Report Magazine •

Domestic violence and workplace safety: Why policy change is needed

When we talk about health and safety in the workplace, domestic violence issues rarely enter the discussion. Yet for someone who has been awake most of the night from duress, their ability to manage workplace risks and hazards can become a serious issue.

“For those people that might be in a workplace driving company vehicles, working on a drilling rig, or doing iron work, you need to have your wits about you,” says Tracy Porteous, Executive Director of Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC).
Rank and File •

Feds’ TFW review laced with failures: process erases the facts

Like many others, Jhing came to Canada from the Philippines to work. She came after paying for her own flight, and she expected stable employment through Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers’ Program as a live-in caregiver.

She was overcharged by recruiters. After being placed with an employer, her salary was withheld. When she challenged one prospective employer, they told her she wasn’t needed anymore.

Like countless others, Jhing has been exploited by a broken system.

Without work and a place to stay, migrant justice organization Migrante BC offered Jhing a home. Although she now has a new employer, she speaks of what must change so no one else faces what she has.
Rank and File •

Charting corporate connections in the new Liberal cabinet

Last week, there was widespread swooning over the newly appointed Trudeau cabinet, an amount of public adoration rather unsettling for those of us that remember the ugly days past of Liberal austerity. In addition to Liberal supporters, many progressives applauded Trudeau for appointing a diverse cabinet and practicing gender parity. While straight from the handbook of NDP Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, the gender parity move got Trudeau much public attention and praise.

Trudeau is well positio
Rank and File •

Stories of sexism in the workplace

A workplace can become so toxic for a woman, and other genders that commonly face violence and discrimination, that the easiest escape is often to quit the job.

I spoke with a friend last week who was complaining about how all her male co-workers belittle her and don’t value her opinions. When she raised concerns with her editor-in-chief, he completely dismissed her. She is contemplating quitting because she doesn’t see any other avenues for recourse.

This can mean taking a pay cut and spending numerous unpaid hours searching for alternative work. It can mean sacrificing an important job experience. Sexism permeates our workplaces and holds people back, constantly.
Rank and File •

The WSIB's Austerity Agenda: Deporting Injured Migrant Workers

On Dec. 3, a group of injured workers and their allies gathered in front of the Ontario Ministry of Labour on University Avenue in Toronto to demand action on medical coverage for injured workers. The workers handed out band aids to passing pedestrians to garner attention.

“Unfortunately there were no migrant workers there today because a lot of them have been repatriated,” says Jessica Ponting, a community legal worker with the Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario.
Rank and File •

How the WSIB is failing the injured workers of Ontario

On Jan. 1, 1915, a worker in Kearney, Ontario, employed by a lumber company, suffered a hand injury on the job. He was the first worker to receive benefits under the Workman’s Compensation Act, which came into effect the same day. The Workman’s Compensation Board–now named the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB) – was established in 1914 to administer benefits to injured workers in Ontario through a system modelled on William Ralph Meredith’s “historic compromise,” whereby workers are denied the right to sue employers in exchange for compensation, benefits, and the facilitation of a timely return to work.
The Leveller •

Marchers decry Canada’s love affair with the fossil fuel industry

On Oct. 29, hundreds of concerned youth, environmentalists, and frontline impacted community members hit the streets of downtown Ottawa to challenge federal climate change and energy policies. Marchers declared their support for impacted Indigenous nations, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), which is currently confronting the ecological destruction underway in Northeastern Alberta as a result of tar sands development.

“It’s unbridled corporate greed that must stop,” said Lar

Audio Interviews


Rank and File •

Organizing temporary foreign workers through worker-led associations: Interview with Loic Malhaire, Immigrant Workers' Centre, Montreal

There are many reasons why labour unions have failed, on the whole, to build the collective power of migrant workers. Legislative restraints, transient workplaces, language barriers, and the geographical and social isolation of migrant workers make it difficult for trade unions to bridge divides.

I speak with Loic Malhaire, a community organizer with the Immigrant Workers’ Centre (IWC), an organization created in 2000 to defend the rights of workers with precarious immigration status.

Book Reviews 

The Leveller •

Towards New Ways of Organizing: A Review of Nora Loreto’s "From Demonized to Organized: Building the New Union Movement"

Nora Loreto’s newly published book, From Demonized to Organized: Building the New Union Movement, should be added to the toolkit of any educator interested in collective consciousness raising in the 21st century.

Loreto’s book is broad in scope, serving as so much more than a mere discussion on unionism in Canada. It makes connections between current attacks on civil liberties, the current state of journalism, fiscally irresponsible governance, corporate tax cuts, and anti-worker legislation. T