Albertans are already hurting from deep cuts to public services
The public services Albertans desperately need are already being stretched to the breaking point and people are afraid further cuts will make a bad situation much worse.
That's the message coming loud and clear from town hall meetings being held across the province, says Join Together Alberta. The group has held meetings in 16 communities across the province over the past two weeks and will have visited 22 by the middle of February. At each town hall meeting, the stories have been the same. People are hurting from cuts already made and do not want their government to impose more cutbacks.
"In today's throne speech, the government will likely talk about the need for Albertans to 'tighten their belts'," says Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour, and one of the spokespeople for the Join Together Alberta coalition.
"But what Albertans have been telling us at the town halls is that core programs are already being squeezed far too tightly - with real human consequences. We want to share these stories with the media and the public."
Leaders of Join Together Alberta will gather tomorrow to share the stories they have been hearing and to outline an alternative vision of the province's future.
Time: 1:00 p.m., Friday, February 5, 2010
Location: River Valley Room, Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe, 10111 Bellamy Hill, Edmonton
Join Together Alberta is a new coalition that includes representatives from community social service organizations, teachers, parent groups, health professionals, students, faculty and labour organizations.
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Media contacts:
Gil McGowan, AFL President @ (780) 218-9888
Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director, Public Interest Alberta (780) 993-3736
Minimum wage freeze unfair: AFL
The province announced today its decision to keep minimum wage at $8.80 an hour throughout the year.
"They're essentially taking money out of the pockets of the most vulnerable workers in the province," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, who called the freeze "mean-spirited" and "short sighted."
He added minimum wage is barely a poverty wage in most of the province, but particularly in places like Fort McMurray where the cost of living is through the roof.
"If they think this move will save or create jobs, they're dreaming in technicolour," McGowan said. "During a recession, it's not minimum wage jobs that are being lost - it's high-paying jobs in the energy sector or the public sector that have been lost. This move won't accomplish the government's stated objective of creating jobs. It will just make it that more difficult for people on the low end of the income ladder to make ends meet."
Not so, argued Barrie Harrison, Employment and Immigration spokesman. When the minimum wage is raised and businesses only have a certain budget to work with, "they may have to layoff some of their staff in order to adhere to the law," he said.
"There are studies that have shown when you raise minimum wage, especially during tough economic conditions, it can cost jobs. We want to make sure as many Albertans as possible, including those on entry level wages, continue to keep working, and at the same time, provide small businesses with this opportunity to remain viable and competitive ... until the economic conditions strengthen."
In announcing the wage freeze, Thomas Lukaszuk, minister of Employment and Immigration, announced he will request an all-party committee review of the current policies.
Fort McMurray Today, Sat Feb 6 2010
Byline: Carol Christian
Public bands against cuts
Massive cuts are coming and the public shouldn't idly stand by, according to a town hall meeting last night.
Held at the Quality Hotel and hosted by the newly-formed Join Together Alberta, the meeting had about 50 people in attendance including representatives from council and labour groups.
Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, ran the meeting and said the event was about informing Albertans about what's going on and what they can do about it.
"We're trying to send the message that spending on things like schools and hospitals and other public services shouldn't be seen as money lost down the drain," McGowan said.
"It's not money sucked down a black hole. Instead, they should be seen as investments in our people, our community and our future."
The event featured examples of the effects of provincial funding cuts by attendees, speeches by local leaders and a presentation by McGowan on why cuts are a bad idea.
"Public services - whether it's health care, education or that broad range of public services that support Albertans - all those services strengthen the fabric of our communities," McGowan said.
Information pamphlets were distributed and those in the crowd were asked for their thoughts on the cuts. McGowan said that close to $500 million has already been cut from the province's public services and that likely a further $2 billion is planned.
He said that the effects have already been felt through things like increased wait times at hospitals, arguing there is no good reason to make cuts.
Coun. Sheldon Germain was on hand at the meeting to lend his support to the movement. He said that while this is primarily a provincial issue the municipality has experienced the same funding issues that many other organizations have.
"We've experienced, at the municipality, tons of downloading over the years. Our funding agreement is fundamentally flawed," Germain said. "It's based on a one-for-one for kilometres of road and population, which isn't fair because everyone knows it costs more to do business in Fort McMurray, yet we're funded to the same levels of other communities."
Local representatives from organizations like Keyano College, the Association of Community Living and the Alberta Teachers Association spoke about the effect cuts will have on their organizations and the services they provide.
Brennan Conroy, third year music student at Keyano College and the president of the Keyano College Student Association, spoke at the meeting about how tuition increases as a result of provincial cuts would hurt students and thus the entire country.
"If you look at the University of Calgary, they're proposing a 47% increase in tuition to professional programs. If you look at the University of Alberta, they're adding a $530 fee just to keep the budget alive," Conroy said. "When you take money away from the funding, then the students have to pay for it and when you have to pay more, post-secondary education is less appealing and less accessible."
Last night's meeting was one of 22 to be held across Alberta on the proposed cuts. For more information on Join Together Alberta, visit their website at www.jointogetheralberta.ca.
Fort McMurray Today, Sat Feb 6 2010
Byline: Roland Cilliers
Low-income workers take a hit for business
The 19-year-old clothing retailer wants to get his own place and go back to school, and the government's announcement put those dreams even further out of reach.
"Usually when minimum wage goes up, I'd get a raise," he said. "You can't be independent without a dependable wage."
Employment minister Thomas Lukaszuk said the province froze the minimum wage at $8.80 in an effort to keep people employed and small businesses competitive, but critics say the government is picking the pockets of Alberta's most vulnerable workers.
Lukaszuk said the move is necessary to help address Alberta's unemployment rate, which stands at 6.6 per cent.
"When the economy is so fragile -- especially for those entry-level workers -- the last thing I want to do is create a situation where more of them would be laid off because of an increase to the minimum wage."
He also announced plans to ask an all-party committee to review the whole concept of minimum wage.
"If there are innovative ways that will work better for low-income Albertans, then that is something I would like to adopt," he said. Possibilities include variable minimum wages based on industry, he said. The committee will begin work in the coming weeks.
Richard Truscott, Alberta director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, applauded the move, saying the current policy clearly needs to be changed.
"We were very concerned last year when they increased the minimum wage right smack in the middle of a serious recession -- the timing couldn't have been worse for small businesses," he said.
Since 2007, the minimum wage in Alberta has been tied to the province's average weekly earnings index, and has risen steadily from $8.00 in September 2007 to $8.80 in April 2009.
Edmonton Social Planning Council research director John Kolkman said the move is a "real step backward" for the province.
"Three years ago the provincial government made a good decision -- to take the politics out of the minimum wage by tying it to changes in the average monthly earnings of Albertans. That was a fair way to do it."
He said the announcement is particularly troubling, since his calculations suggest the existing policy would have put the latest increase at 1.4 per cent, boosting the hourly wage just 12 cents, to $8.92.
Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said unhitching minimum wage from an index means the wage will erode under the pressure of inflation, moving from a subsistence wage to a poverty wage like it did in the 1980s and 1990s.
"They're essentially picking the pockets of our most vulnerable workers, making it much more difficult for people who are already struggling to make ends meet," he said. "It's heartless, plain and simple, and if the minister thinks this freeze will create any jobs, he's dreaming in technicolour."
Alberta's minimum wage ranks sixth in Canada behind Ontario, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba, all of which have hourly minimum wages over $9.00.
Half of all minimum wage earners work in the food services, accommodation and retail industries, and two in three are women. Natalie Zychniewicz embodies the statistics. The 21-year-old also works selling clothes at the mall and said she would need to make at least two or three dollars more an hour to make it on her own.
"If I wasn't living with my folks I definitely couldn't be working for minimum wage," she said. "I would definitely like to have a little bit more money to spend."
Vancouver Sun, Sun Feb 6 2010
Byline: Karen Kleiss
Public Works! Alberta's public services work ... for all of us
Whether it's the best of time or the worst of times, the public sector is vital to the health of Alberta's economy and society.
Alberta Tories hold line on minimum wage
While the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) applauds this, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) balked at the move by Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.
Gil McGowan, AFL executive director, said it's a "mean-spirited and heartless move" and it will hurt the lowest earners in Alberta.
Minimum wages in the country range from $8 an hour in British Columbia to $9.50 in Ontario.
Alberta's minimum wage, which is tied to the province's weekly earnings index, increased from $8.40 to $8.80 an hour on April 1, 2009.
McGowan said the freeze will make it more difficult for those at the bottom of the income ladder.
"I would describe this move as heartless and completely unnecessary," said McGowan.
Lukaszuk said the decision will both protect jobs during the recovery from recession and support Alberta's economy.
"In addition to freezing the minimum wage, I will also request an all-party committee review of our current policy, ensuring that our approach is what's best for Albertans," said the minister.
The province said the move won't only ensure Albertans in entry-level positions have jobs, but it will also keep small businesses viable and competitive through global economic recovery.
Richard Truscott, Alberta director of CFIB, said the timing of the freeze is perfect because the global economy is starting to recover but it's still fragile.
"Definitely the small business sector's confidence is growing, but it's still shaky," said Truscott.
"Increasing the minimum wage at this time may have a big impact on the optimism and confidence in small businesses," he said.
McGowan argued that most minimum-wage earners are employed by large restaurant chains and not necessarily by small businesses.
"The province is handing more money to fast-food restaurants and coffee shops by freezing the minimum wage," said McGowan.
The province will announce later details of the minimum wage policy review.
Since 2007, the rate has been upped every year but before that, changes to the wage were irregular.
Calgary Sun, Fri Feb 5 2010
Byline: Renato Gandia
Fewer workplace deaths, fewer prosecutions: Alberta gov't not serious enough about safety violations, critics say
However, completed prosecutions of workplace fatalities and injuries dropped to their lowest level since 2004, prompting critics to charge the Alberta government isn't serious enough about pursuing companies that violate safety rules.
"The number of prosecutions in Alberta has always been low compared to other jurisdictions, and unfortunately it seems to be heading in the wrong direction," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
According to government statistics released Monday, occupational fatalities plunged in 2009 to their lowest level in seven years, with 110 people dying either on the job, driving to a work site or as a result of an occupational disease.
The figure marks a 34-per-cent decrease from 2008's record high of 166 job-related deaths. Farm workers, who aren't covered by the Workers Compensation Board, aren't included in the tally.
A provincial analysis of last year's fatalities won't be completed until April, but Employment and Immigration spokesman Chris Chodan suspects Alberta's economic downturn played a role in the sizable decrease.
It's not yet known whether the province's fatality rate -- the number of deaths relative to the number of people working -- has also gone down.
"One year doesn't make a trend, (but) we're glad to see that the number went down," Chodan said from Edmonton.
"We've been seeing the injury rate track downward over the last several years and hopefully we'll see it go down again this year for 2009."
Deaths decreased in all three categories: 41 people died in workplace incidents compared with 52 in 2008; 20 workers died in motor vehicle crashes versus 50 people the year earlier; and 49 people died because of an occupational disease compared with 64 in 2008.
Also down were the number of workers in Alberta.
Chodan said nearly two million Albertans were employed in 2009, 25,200 fewer people than the previous year.
Despite the high number of workplace deaths during boom times, only nine prosecutions were finished in 2009, with $712,975 collected from safety violators.
In 2008, the province completed 22 prosecutions involving workplace deaths and injuries. Companies were fined a record $5 million.
Chodan said the drop-off reflects the speed of the court system, noting there's been no decrease in Crown attorneys.
Despite last year's drop in deaths, the amount of people dying because of their job remains troubling, said Bob Barnetson, who specializes in labour relations at Athabasca University.
"It's still a terrible number," he said. "Those people went to work, they have kids, something happened at work, and they get killed."
Barnetson suggested the Alberta government should be tougher on companies breaking safety rules.
He'd like to see the province grant occupational safety inspectors the authority to issue fines, instead of relying solely on the courts to dole out penalties for violations. Inspectors have this power in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Alberta examined the idea in 2003, but never moved forward with it.
"We weren't really sure of what the effect would be. Different jurisdictions do it differently," said Chodan, noting inspectors can order a company to stop work until safety problems are fixed.
Lloyd Harman, vice-president of safety services for Enform, a petroleum industry safety association, is not in favour of granting inspectors the authority to fine, saying he believes collaboration between government and employers yields better safety.
"There's no silver bullet," he said. "It's a number of things that all need to be taken to prevent incidents."
Union leader McGowan has lobbied for years for stronger government rules. Like Barnetson, he thinks Alberta should adopt a workplace fine system. McGowan also wants the province to do more safety inspections and make workplace safety committees mandatory.
Calgary Herald, Tues Feb 2 2010
Byline: Renata D'Aliesio
Connecting the Dots with Jason Kenney: Why food sovereignty can solve the climate crisis and how Canada's immigration policy serves our free trade interests
Immigration is not a topic often associated with the food system, but Harjap Grewal of NOII says immigration and the food system are "very much linked." He sees immigration as "the human impact of free trade policy, [and therefore] the reason why [farmers are] migrating."
Immigration is a growing issue in Canadian politics in the past decade, stemming from an increase in the number of people seeking refugee or migrant worker status in Canada. "We've actually made the politically difficult decision to maintain historically high levels of immigration," Jason Kenney, Minister of Immigration, said to the Calgary Sun.
On the surface, Kenney seems to be making it easier for migrant workers to stay in Canada. Kenney said migrants are "doing work Canadians are unwilling to perform," and that his government, despite the recession and rising unemployment, will maintain its practice of encouraging immigration and foreign labour. Tarina White of the Calgary Sun reported, "Calgary newcomers will have access to more language training (to the tune of) almost $9.5 million in funding. ... Kenney said he hopes the investment will boost the percentage of immigrants enrolling in language programs each year, which currently sits at 25 per cent." According to Bill Kaufman of the Sun, Kenney said his government is stepping up its monitoring of foreign workers' treatment while making it easier for the newcomers to become permanent residents and citizens.
However, a closer look reveals a different agenda.
Documented by NOII, Kenney "oversaw the largest immigration raid in recent Canadian history, which went largely unreported. In an illegal move, 41 [migrants] were tricked into signing waivers that removed their right to a hearing and many have now been deported."
White reported that Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan blames international free trade agreements for "setting up foreign workers to be exploited." McGowan accuses Kenney's ministry of "washing its hands" of temporary foreign workers once they arrive only for them to be routinely abused by their employers. He noted, "Only three per cent of migrant workers are eligible for permanent residency."
"We're the ones who set up an advocacy office to help workers who are exploited; we're the ones picking up the pieces. ... I find it galling [that] Kenney's trying to wrap himself in the cloak of virtue."
Dominionpaper.com, Sun Jan 31 2010
Byline: Ben Amundson
Cuts Could Kill Thousands of Jobs: 'We have options that would make most other provinces green with envy'
"It's clear to us that the government is considering cuts on a scale that we haven't seen in Alberta since the darkest days of the so-called Klein revolution," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL).
The conclusion, reached in AFL's report, Worse Than the Recession, is based on the assumption the government will slash $2 billion to $3 billion in next month's 2010 budget announcement, says McGowan.
Alberta has already lost 44,700 jobs since the boom screeched to a halt in the fall of 2008.
Calgary would be hit particularly hard with potential job losses numbering almost 18,000 in a worse-case scenario, according to the report.
Rather than falling back on the slash-and-burn tactics used in the 1990s, the province could dip into its sustainability fund, valued at $17 billion last April.
"We have options that would make most other provinces green with envy," says McGowan. "A credible solution is to simply avoid panic and wait for the economy to recover, which it seems to be doing."
Fast Forward Weekly, Thurs Jan 28 2010
Byline: Trevor Scott Howell
Alberta Federation of Labour forecasts big job cuts
Edmonton (27 Jan. 2010) - The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) says 35,000 to 60,000 jobs could be lost as a result of massive budget cuts by the Stelmach government.
A report released this week by AFL president Gil McGowan says the calculations are based on estimates that the province will slash between $2 billion and $3.72 billion in spending when it tables a new budget on Feb. 9.
"What our analysis suggests is that the number of jobs lost would actually be greater outside of the public sector than in the public sector because, by taking the income out of local communities, that will result in local jobs in the private sector," he believes.
Instead, McGowan says the province should maintain or increase spending to help Alberta through the recession.
"The economy is starting to pick up. With the expansion of the economy, government revenue will increase and so there won't be any real need for them even to consider cuts of the magnitude they've been discussing," he argues.
A spokesperson for the finance ministry downplayed the report, accusing the AFL of spreading needless fear.
Alberta is forecast to end the fiscal year with a $4.3 billion deficit.
nupge.ca, Wed Jan 27 2010