OTTAWA — Workers in federally regulated workplaces now have two weeks of paid sick leave thanks to years of advocacy from the NDP.
Jagmeet Singh and the NDP MPs raised the issue in the House of Commons more than 50 times before the Trudeau Liberals finally gave in.
OTTAWA — Workers in federally regulated workplaces now have two weeks of paid sick leave thanks to years of advocacy from the NDP.
Jagmeet Singh and the NDP MPs raised the issue in the House of Commons more than 50 times before the Trudeau Liberals finally gave in.
“People shouldn’t have to go to work when they’re sick because they’re worried about paying the bills and putting food on the table. Workers deserve a government who has their backs,” said Singh. “For years, Liberal and Conservative governments refused to help workers, leaving them to figure things out on their own. The Liberals were not going to do the right thing, and I'm so proud that we won this fight, standing alongside Canada's working people.”
Singh says the 10 paid sick days now mandated allows people to take care of their health without worrying about losing pay, and also helps stop the spread of illnesses.
“I’ve been there – in my twenties I had to work three jobs to take care of my teenage brother. I know the high cost of living and low wages is a constant source of stress for people, and you can't just call in sick when it means you won't be able to afford groceries or the gas bill," said Singh.
“New Democrats are always going to work for you and your family—not the rich and powerful. We have your backs every step of the way."
Corporations can use personal data such as location, device type, browsing history, purchase behavior, login status, and loyalty cards/programs to profile consumers and determine what different people are charged for the same goods and services.
How can we stop this from happening in Canada?
Join MP Jenny Kwan, Patrick Johnson - President of UFCW 1518, Jim Stanford - Economist and Director of Centre for Future Work, and other experts, for a public forum and community conversation about what surveillance pricing means for consumers and workers, how technology and personal data are changing the way prices are set, and what everyday people can do to fight back.
In the morning of August 31, Egyptian journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy received an email from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), informing him that it had made a “u-turn” and reversed its decision to deny him entry to Canada.
The reversal came in response to a coordinated solidarity campaign that successfully pressured IRCC, Canada’s department of immigration, to change course.
Almost two weeks earlier, on August 18, IRCC rejected el-Hamalawy’s application for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which is required for German citizens to visit Canada. An Egyptian exile and refugee, el-Hamalawy resides in Berlin and has German citizenship. His eTA application was to attend two public speaking engagements in September at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.
IRCC initially rejected el-Hamalawy’s eTA application after requesting three times that he provide official documents from the Egyptian government that corroborate his experience of detention and torture under the regime.
In Toronto, the Executive Director of REDWORD.ca, Mostafa Al-A’sar, prepared an open letter to Minister Diab signed by prominent labour leaders, journalists, and human rights activists, including Mostafa Fouad, Executive Director of HuMENA for Human Rights; Ehab Lotayef, founding member of Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy; Judy Rebick, feminist and journalist; and Sid Ryan, former President of the Ontario Federation of Labour.
Other activists launched an email campaign, which encouraged supporters to send letters to Minister Diab and her Parliamentary Secretary, Liberal Member of Parliament Peter Fragiskatos (London Centre), as well as their own Members of Parliament. Letters were sent from across Canada, including Halifax, Nova Scotia (Diab’s home riding) and London, Ontario (Fragiskatos’s home riding). Activists in the United States, Britain, and Europe also shared the email appeal.
In addition to the appeal, activists organized two emergency phone actions, which delivered over 200 voicemail messages to Diab, Fragiskatos, and dozens of Members of Parliament.
Finally, on August 31, Jenny Kwan shared her own open letter to the Minister, which echoed all the demands of the solidarity campaign.
My open letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab requesting urgent intervention to facilitate entry into Canada for Hossam el-Hamalawy.
Mr. el-Hamalawy is an award-winning Egyptian journalist, scholar, and human rights advocate who fled persecution in Egypt and is now a German citizen living in exile. He was invited by faculty at Simon Fraser University (SFU) to give two academic lectures this September. However, IRCC denied his Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) after demanding documentation from the very Egyptian authorities responsible for his past detention and persecution—putting him in an impossible and unsafe position.
It is deeply problematic to expect political exiles to seek papers from the regime they fled. Canada must stand up for human rights, academic freedom, and freedom of the press. I am calling on Minister Diab to use her discretion and immediately reconsider this decision so Mr. el-Hamalawy can share his scholarship at SFU.