From the Canadian Labour Congress, September 4, 2020

Ottawa – To mark Labour Day, Canada’s Unions are calling on all levels of government to focus on investments and community supports to help restart our economies and protect Canadians.

Visit Forward Together - A Canadian Plan at canadianplan.ca

Forward Together: A Canadian Plan is a new campaign centred on ensuring that Canada is ready to disaster-proof our nation so that no one is left behind when crisis hits. The campaign will roll out digitally on various social media platforms and will encourage Canadians to engage with their elected representatives on key issues.

“There are important lessons to be learned from this pandemic and we have a real opportunity to strengthen our communities and to better protect one another,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC President. “We have been able to withstand this pandemic by supporting each other, and that is the only way to move forward.”

Learning from the chaos seen in the United States, Canada’s Unions will be pushing for a plan that focuses on:

• Replacing lost jobs with better ones
• Strengthening Canadian public health care
• Disaster-proofing our social safety net

“We need the government to reject calls for austerity and make real investments in our future. The only way to fix what’s broken is to invest,” said Yussuff. “Workers are key to the recovery. The federal government can help alleviate a lot of anxiety by investing in jobs, making long-term care part of public health care, supporting a child care strategy, and implementing national pharmacare.”

Canada’s Unions are looking for targeted investments in green infrastructure, education and training, and care work.

“A strong economy is inextricably linked with strong social services that support workers and their families through bad times,” said Yussuff. “The United States is showing us what happens when we act like everyone is in it for themselves. We can and must do better.”

Read about Labour's vision for the 2020-2021 federal budget here.