November 1, 2009, marks eight years since BC last increased the statutory minimum wage for workers in the province. Frozen at $8, and slashed by 25 percent to $6 for new workers, BC’s minimum wage has gone from the highest in the country to the lowest during this time. During this period, the cost to taxpayers for Premier Campbell’s own salary and benefits, have more than doubled, increasing 109 percent.
“Gordon Campbell said his government didn’t need to raise the minimum wage when the economy was creating jobs. Now that we have lost tens of thousands of jobs, he says we can’t afford to raise it” says Jim Sinclair President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “The vast majority of British Columbians disagree with him and believe an increase is long overdue.”
Sinclair is calling on the provincial government to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour with annual future increases indexed to inflation. Provincial polling last spring found a $10 per hour minimum wage is supported by 78 percent of British Columbians with high levels of support regardless of age, education, household income or political affiliation.
Every other provincial government in the country has increased the provincial minimum wage this year. Next year Ontario’s minimum wage is set to increase to $10.25 while Newfoundland’s will grow to $10.00 and Nova Scotia’s will increase to $9.65. The province of Alberta makes annual adjustments to the minimum wage linked to average weekly earnings, while the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have review boards that make annual recommendations regarding minimum wage increases.
“Thousands of people in BC have lost good paying jobs and are finding nothing out there but $8 an hour, yet Gordon Campbell still won’t increase the minimum wage,” Sinclair added.
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For more information: Evan Stewart, Director of Communications (604) 220-3095.
October 31, 2009 | Posted in
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Peter Russell, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, and former president of the Canadian Political Science Association, said the major party leaders’ aversion to majority coalition government may provoke a constitutional crisis. Russell outlined his concerns at the Eighth Annual Templeton Lecture in Winnipeg on October 15. See news article here.
October 31, 2009 | Posted in
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News • Top Stories
Organizers of the Calgary Leader’s Dinner on November 6 are promising an outstanding meal, some hilarious comedic commentary and an “up close and personal” speech from Leader Dr. David Swann.
The dinner is being held at the Thorncliffe-Greenview Community Association (5600 Centre Street NE) and gets underway at 6 p.m. with a [...]
October 29, 2009 | Posted in
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It is with great sadness that we let you know Tibetan rights groups recently confirmed that three Tibetans, Lobsang Gyaltsen, Loyak, and Penkyi were executed on October 20th, 2009 in Lhasa. There is a report that a fourth Tibetan may also have been executed. Read SFT’s press statement.
This is the first known execution of a Tibetan since 2003, demonstrating the lengths to which the Chinese government is now prepared to go in order to intimidate Tibetans and crush all perceived opposition to its occupation of Tibet.
Please join people worldwide in voicing outrage at this travesty of justice. Please take action and send a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to immediately condemn these executions in the strongest possible terms.
We urge you to also call your Members of Parliament and let them know how serious this matter is and that you expect the Canadian Government to take immediate action and condemn these killings.
If you are in the Toronto or Vancouver areas, please join us for a candle light vigil this Sunday, October 25th, in memory of the 4 Tibetans killed.
Toronto: 5-7pm at the Toronto Chinese Consulate (240 St. George Street). Contact: lobsang@studentsforafreetibet.org
Vancouver: 6pm at the Vancouver Chinese Consulate (3380 Granville Street). Contact: klaravrbova@yahoo.com
October 23, 2009 | Posted in
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The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1724 will issue 72 hour strike notice against MVT Canadian Bus Inc. later today. MVT, based in California, operates the HandyDART bus service in Metro Vancouver on a three-year contract from TransLink.
“MVT is demanding massive concessions from the men and women who keep the HandyDART buses on the road,” says Dave Watt, President of ATU Local 1724. “MVT is looking to eliminate the pension plan, slash benefits and cut shifts in half. That is only a few of the concessions MVT is trying to squeeze out of HandyDART workers in order to boost their profits.”
“TransLink cannot contract out its responsibility to provide quality services and pay fair wages and benefits,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “If TransLink thinks they can contract out this critical service, and then pay for it by slashing wages and working conditions of British Columbians, they are very wrong.”
Sinclair called on TransLink to send a very strong message to this American-based company, to get back to the bargaining table, get rid of the concessions and get a fair agreement for these workers and their families.
The ATU represents more than 500 drivers, office and maintenance staff at HandyDART. Workers there voted 97 percent in favour of strike action.
HandyDART workers serve about 4,000 passengers each day. These workers are committed to maintaining service to passengers undergoing cancer therapy or dialysis under an essential service agreement.
For more information: Dave Watt, President, ATU 1724 (778) 836-6676
Evan Stewart, B.C. Federation of Labour (604) 220-3095
October 22, 2009 | Posted in
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Our latest Nanos poll shows that support for the Conservatives continues to increase while Liberal support is in decline. With the Tories holding a ten point advantage over the Liberals this represents the widest gap between the two parties since the last federal election.
Of note, since last months polling, the Liberal Party’s support in Quebec has noticeably decreased – from 32.5% in early September to 24.6%.
The number of undecided voters, nationally, has dropped in the past month from 24.6% in early September, down to 17.5%, likely owing to the subdued election buzz.
To chat about this poll join the national political online chat at Nik on the Numbers. The detailed tables and methodology are posted on our website. You can also register to receive automatic polling updates.
Methodology
Nanos conducted a random telephone survey of 1,005 Canadians, 18 years of age and older, between October 10th and October 18th. A survey of 1,005 Canadians is accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20, for 829 committed voters, it is accurate to within 3.4 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20. Margins may be larger for smaller samples.
Ballot Question: For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences? (Committed voters only – First Preference)
The numbers in parenthesis denote the change from the last Nanos National Omnibus survey completed between August 28th and September 2nd, 2009.
National (n=829)
Conservative 39.8% (+2.3)
Liberal 30.0% (-3.4)
NDP 16.6% (+1.8)
BQ 8.9% (-0.8)
Green 4.6% (NC)
Undecided 17.5% (-7.1)
What do you think?
Cheers,
NJN
Remember to rate the views of others – to allow us to recognize the opinion leaders in our national conversation.
Individuals with the top ratings make it to Nik’s Leaderboard
October 21, 2009 | Posted in
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The coalition, representing 100 groups, raised two banners, totalling 220 feet in length, as a backdrop for a news conference demanding Canadian climate action. The banners dramatically displayed the names of signatories to the KYOTOplus petition that calls on the Harper government to meet science-based targets for reducing Canada’s [...]
October 21, 2009 | Posted in
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You can help turn $10 into $1,000 for Students for a Free Tibet Canada. It’s not magic, it’s the Facebook Causes Giving Challenge.
And, beginning at 3pm (EST) TODAY (Tuesday, Oct. 20th) until 3pm (EST) TOMORROW (Wednesday, Oct. 21st), SFT Canada is in it to win it!
www.causes.com/sft
This 24hr challenge is SFT Canada’s opportunity to win $1,000 and to help SFT HQ win the 1st place challenge prize of $50,000 by Nov. 6th, when the challenge ends.
Please help us win by donating $10 once between 3pm (EST) TODAY (Tuesday, October 20th) and 3pm (EST) TOMORROW (Wednesday, Oct. 21st): www.causes.com/sft
Wednesday is an auspicious day to win! Tibetans inside Tibet have come to honor “Lhakar” or “White Wednesday” as the day on which His Holiness the Dalai Lama was born. Every Wednesday, Tibetans across Tibet are taking simple and concrete actions – such as visiting monasteries, eating in Tibetan restaurants, speaking in Tibetan, and wearing traditional clothing – to reaffirm their identity and celebrate the resilience of Tibetan culture in the face of China’s oppression.
This is SFT Canada’s day to take action!
1. Go to the Tibetan Freedom Movement’s Cause: www.causes.com/sft
2. Select donate (if you don’t have a Facebook account, choose the “Donate Without Facebook” option)
3. Donate $10 and invite all your friends and family to do the same (you can only donate once per 24hr period)
Here’s the deal: Every 24 hour period (3pm EST – 3pm EST the next day) until November 6, 2009, the cause with the greatest number of unique daily donations wins $1k. The organization with the greatest number of daily donations at the end of the challenge wins $50k. You do not need a Facebook account to take part.
If you can donate more than $10, please give $10 on different days so that each of your donations counts towards SFT’s total number – bringing us one step closer to winning $50K. You can only donate once per 24hr cycle.
Here are other ways you can help:
- After you donate, please call or text 1 friend. Tell them what you did and ask them to do the same.
- Have a telethon party tonight with a group of friends and phone everyone you know to encourage them to donate $10 to help SFT Canada win the challenge.
- Forward this message to any friends or family before the challenge ends on Wednesday at 3pm (EST)!
With your continued support, Tibet will be free!
October 20, 2009 | Posted in
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Cameras from four television networks recorded Ed Broadbent, Nathalie Des Rosiers and John Trent as they became the first three signers of the Declaration of Voters’ Rights at an October 16 press conference.
Ed Broadbent at FVC press conference
Fair Vote Canada developed the Declaration to give voters a means of demanding our democratic rights to equal votes, fair election results and legitimate majority rule.
[Press conference video: Part 1: Larry Gordon and John Trent, and Part 2: Nathalie Des Rosiers and Ed Broadbent.]
“We’re here to draw a line in the sand,” said FVC executive director Larry Gordon at the press conference. “We’re here to call on all Canadian voters to sign the Declaration. It’s not a petition. It’s not a request. It is written, similar to other historic political statements, as a Declaration. These are our democratic rights and we demand them now.”
John Trent signs the Declaration
The press conference, held in the Parliamentary media room, featured former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former Law Commission of Canada president Nathalie Des Rosiers, who is currently General Counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and Dr. John Trent, former secretary-general of the International Political Science Association.
Fair Vote Canada is encouraging all Canadians to sign the Declaration in the coming months. The Declaration is available online at the Fair Vote Canada website.
October 20, 2009 | Posted in
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It’s been a whirlwind month at Students for a Free Canada. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Canada took me across the country and back and I wanted to share some highlights from the tour with you.
My first stop was in Vancouver where I met with students from the University of British Columbia, Simon Frasier University, and the University of Victoria. We tabled at both His Holiness’s public talks and spoke to dozens of students about Tibet and SFT.
My next stop was Calgary where I joined SFT Calgary members who ran a very succesful booth at the the Calgary Saddledome where His Holiness was warmly received. SFT Canada’s merchandise sold like hot-cakes!
Last but not least, I made my way back east to Montreal where we set up information tables at His Holiness’s public talk at the Montreal Bell Centre. SFT Montreal introduced our new line of French t-shirts and bilingual brochures which were widely popular.
Successful fundraisers in support of SFT Canada’s important work for Tibet were hosted by both SFT Montreal and SFT Calgary.
It goes without saying that it’s always an incredibly inspiring and humbling experience to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak. I’m also so happy to have met SFTers from across Canada – their passion for Tibet and commitment to SFT was felt in every city I traveled to.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who helped on the tour and every single SFT supporter I met along the way.
We collected hundreds of petitions calling for the release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, sold lots of SFT merchandise, and most importantly, many people told me about how energized and inspired they were by SFT’s creativity and far-sighted vision for Tibet freedom.
In hope,
Tenzin Lobsang and everyone at SFT Canada
P.S. If you would like to support our work for Tibet in Canada, please donate today! Even the smallest gift makes a difference.
October 18, 2009 | Posted in
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