TORONTO – Although non-teaching staff at Ontario schools have returned to work and negotiations have just resumed, the agreement between the government and CUPE remains a mirage. The parties seem to be still far apart on some key issues. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which has more than 50,000 members among the education support staff, says it will not accept a “two-tier offer” from the province: an uneven wage increase has been reported as part of the latest offer from the Ford government “We have been clear, an agreement will be made with a substantial lump sum increase – reads a statement released yesterday by the bargaining committee – such an offer would not be up to what you workers need to ratify an agreement.”
TORONTO – “It will be a difficult period for the Canadian economy”. Federal Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland (in the pic above, from her Facebook page), issued a warning: the next few months will not be good as the Bank of Canada’s recent rate hikes to tame (according to the bank itself) skyrocketing inflation will increase borrowing costs for businesses and consumers, which will send shockwaves throughout the economy, Freeland said, effectively echoing a concept that many economists have been arguing for months. →
TORONTO – As they say, it is better to be safe than sorry. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic reminded us of how true that is. Wash your hands well, use the mask indoors, avoid crowds. It’s up to each of us to make prevention work. Yes. To make prevention work, however, it is also necessary to inform. And this belongs to those who govern us. It would be necessary, because it does not always happen, as in the case of the spreading of data relating to infections in Canada. →
TORONTO – Autumn and winter will be difficult. Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says so, and the same Alberta health officials. In both provinces, in fact, cases are now on the rise. Ontario has returned to detect more than 500 new cases of Covid-19: according to data from the Ministry of Health, in fact, 531 new cases were confirmed today, compared to 485 the day before (another 17 deaths were also recorded, although 15 of them occurred months ago and were discovered through a data reconnaissance). →