Strike at WSIB Stretches as Employer Dawdles
Article content
TORONTO — As the strike at the WSIB approaches its second week, the WSIB management is dragging its heels on issuing a pass. The OCEU/CUPE 1750 bargaining team issued a complete pass back to the employer on June 1, but have yet to receive a fulsome response. 'It's like they aren't taking the strike seriously,' said Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750. 'Our members are out on the picket lines because they are overworked and feel disrespected by the employer, and these delay tactics are just a manifestation of that disrespect.'
Article content
'The employer made the union wait four days for a pass last week,' added Nicole Francis, OCEU/CUPE 1750's chief steward. 'Their lack of meaningful engagement in this process is deeply frustrating.'
Article content
Article content
The union is hoping to get a meaningful solution to the workload problem that is causing elevated rates of burnout and mental health leaves among OCEU/CUPE 1750 members, as well as a deal that will allow the members to catch up to the spending power they had before Bill 124 froze their wages.
Article content
'We have been told the Treasury Board is telling the employer not to offer us a fair wage deal,' said Goslin. 'Seeing as the WSIB isn't taxpayer-funded, we're not sure why the Treasury Board is involved at all.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Contacts
Article content
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
12 minutes ago
- CTV News
N.B. government throws support behind hybrid operating room in Fredericton
The outside of the emergency room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton. (CTV Atlantic/Laura Brown) The New Brunswick government is throwing its support behind a hybrid operating room in Fredericton that is expected to run up annual costs of $3.3 million. The Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital has been undergoing renovations for years and three years ago doctors began advocating that one of the newly-renovated spaces become a hybrid operating room. 'A hybrid operating room combines a traditional operating room with advanced medical imaging devices, allowing physicians to diagnose and perform complex, minimally invasive surgical procedures in one setting,' a news release from the province says. The Chalmers Foundation is raising money to pay for new equipment and it expects to shore up $4.3 million. The government is also committing money to help with preparations, although its release did not give a firm amount. 'The foundation is delighted to get the green light to raise funds for a hybrid operating room, something that our board, the local community and our medical staff have long advocated for,' said Charles A. Diab, CEO of the Chalmers Foundation, in the release. 'For patients, this will significantly improve wait times for care and important surgeries. 'Also, it is really going to help us in recruitment and retention efforts for specialists and surgeons who want the tools and equipment to do what they're trained to do.' -With files from Laura Brown More to come… Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital The outside of the emergency room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton. (CTV Atlantic/Laura Brown) For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
15 minutes ago
- CBC
Wildfire evacuee numbers climb to more than 17,000 in Manitoba, premier says
Social Sharing The number of wildfire evacuees in Manitoba has increased, with more likely as a handful of communities remain on alert. "The numbers have continued to grow. We were saying 17,000. I think we can safely assume it's north of that number now," Premier Wab Kinew said on CBC Manitoba's Information Radio on Thursday morning. He didn't have an estimate on the total but said about 16,800 people are now registered with the Canadian Red Cross. "And keep in mind, not everyone registers with us. Some folks, they just make the decision they're going to stay with family," Kinew said. It's been eight days since he declared a provincewide state of emergency due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba. Since then, the northwestern part of the province has also become a danger zone. There are 15 communities under mandatory evacuation orders and another three under voluntary evacuation. Three others — Snow Lake, Norway House and Chemawawin Cree Nation (Easterville) — are under evacuation alerts or notices, with people ordered to be ready to leave with short notice. "We are in a new reality when it comes to wildfires. Typically, we would have one part of the province dealing with challenges and … there'd be, like, maybe two communities on evacuation in other summers. This year, it's every region at the same time," Kinew said. "So that's one thing that we need to plan for in the future." The pace at which everything has been happening has also opened an unfortunate door to misinformation on social media, Kinew said. To combat that, the province is launching a digital information portal later on Thursday. "It is striking during a state of emergency how quickly false claims can make their way around social media that actually pull away time and resources from people who would otherwise be co-ordinating an evacuation effort or responding to the actual wildfires themselves," Kinew said. Watch as the northern Manitoba wildfires grow 20 hours ago Duration 1:11 Wildfires have been burning in northern Manitoba since late May, when a province-wide emergency was declared. Watch as CBC Weather Specialist Riley Laychuk tracks the fires threatening the communities of Flin Flon, Sherridon and Pukatawagan. Three days after last week's evacuation of the city of Flin Flon, rumours sprouted on social media about firefighters being killed while battling the blaze. "I realize people are driven by stress in some cases, and in other cases by a compassionate response to try and get information out there, but … to have the added stress of some false information being shared on social media was counterproductive," Kinew said. The province's info portal "will be a trusted source of information on fires, where to find evacuation supports, how [people] can help in the response," he said. The province will also begin holding regular, but not necessarily daily, news briefings. The first of those is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Thursday. As of Wednesday (the most recent data available), a total of 513,803 hectares had burned in the province. Last year at this time, 43,141 hectares had been impacted. Manitoba's fire situation report shows there are 27 active wildfires and a total of 111 fires to date, which is well above the average of 91 for this time of year. Kinew on Thursday also defended the province's decision to send evacuees to Ontario, addressing criticisms that suggested Manitoba was unprepared to respond to the demand. "That is the Manitoba response, just to be clear," he said. The province hired a private firm to manage the evacuee response, "and they found rooms in Niagara." "Earlier in this same wildfire season, Ontario didn't have rooms and we housed more than 1,000 Ontario evacuees here. I think one of the things that we're seeing this year is that we have to have a pan-provincial — a national — response, just given the scale of the emergency we're facing." The ability to get people, within a week, out of harm's way and into shelters and provide wraparound supports is a testament to the emergency management team in Manitoba and partners like Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, the Manitoba Métis Federation and municipal leaders across northern Manitoba, Kinew said. One of the other challenges the province has had to address is ensuring thousands of evacuees, especially those in major centres like Winnipeg, are kept safe from exploitation. "It is one of the very disturbing things about this, that even in the midst of the vast, vast majority of Manitobans stepping up and donating or volunteering, that there is a small group of people who are also trying to show up and prey on evacuees," Kinew said. "You can let your mind wander to some of the really bad behaviours that this might encompass." To counter that, security guards and other resources have been installed around evacuation centres, and police are working with First Nations safety officers, he said. "If there's a criminal act going on, there's going to be accountability. Somebody's going to get arrested," Kinew said. And then there's what he calls "a fourth layer of response," meaning help from community groups in Winnipeg like the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, the Bear Clan and Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatwin (OPK), an Indigenous-led organization that supports at-risk youth affected by gangs, poverty and violence. "We've been working with them to ensure that they're, in some cases, that insulating security layer around people to protect them from bad actors," Kinew said. "In other cases, this is about somebody struggling, and we do have crisis stabilization unit, public health nurses and, you know, the medical professionals at each of these shelter sites and reception centres." Mandatory evacuations are in place for: Bakers Narrows. Big Island Lake. Bissett. Cranberry Portage. Flin Flon. Little Athapapuskow cottage area. Lynn Lake. Marcel Colomb First Nation (Black Sturgeon). Nopiming Provincial Park. Parts of Whiteshell Provincial Park. Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake). Pukatawagan (Mathias Colomb Cree Nation). Schist Lake. Sherridon. Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake). Voluntary evacuation orders are in place for: Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Snow Lake. Wanless. Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@
CBC
15 minutes ago
- CBC
Canada men's head coach Marsch adds experienced Johnston, Osorio for CONCACAF Gold Cup
Veterans Alistair Johnston and Jonathan Osorio will rejoin Canada later this month for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Both are included in Jesse Marsch's 26-man roster, which also adds goalkeeper Tom McGill and defender Kamal Miller to those held over from the 23-player Canadian Shield Tournament, which begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET with No. 30 Canada hosting No. 25 Ukraine at Toronto's BMO Field. The Canadians face No. 41 Ivory Coast next Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. "We're excited to be bringing a very strong squad to the upcoming Gold Cup," Marsch said in a statement. "We're very confident in the group and are looking forward to challenging for the title." Osorio (84 caps), Johnston (53) and Millar (47) bring a combined 184 caps to the squad. Osorio could skip the Shield tournament after suffering a shoulder injury with TFC on April 30. Celtic's Johnston had been dealing with a back issue. Fulback/wingback Richie Laryea, replaced by Zorhan Bassong due to injury in the CONCACAF Nations League Final roster in March, returned to action May 31 for Toronto FC from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him since March 1 and is part of both the Shield and Gold Cup squads. Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio is included in the Gold Cup roster even though his club, Portugal's FC Porto, is involved in the FIFA Club World Cup, which runs at the same time in the United States. The hope is he will be able to rejoin Canada at some point during the Gold Cup. McGill is added as the third goalkeeper on the roster, joining Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair. Osorio most experienced player There are 12 MLS players, including two from Toronto (Laryea and Osorio), two from CF Montreal (Nathan Saliba and Joel Waterman) and three from Vancouver (Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson). The roster ranges in age from 19 for Fulham defender de Fougerolles to 32 for Osorio, the most experienced player in the group. Canada opens Gold Cup play June 17 against No. 75 Honduras in Vancouver before heading to Houston to complete Group B play against No. 90 Curacao on June 21 and No. 81 El Salvador on June 24. The 16-team Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean runs June 14 through July 6 in 13 cities (all but Vancouver in the U.S.). The field includes No. 58 Saudi Arabia as a guest team. The winner and runner-up from each of the four groups advance to the knockout stage. Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000 and was third in 2002. The Canadian men lost to the U.S. in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 last time out in 2023. Mexico has won the title seven times and finished runner-up twice. The U.S. has lifted the trophy seven times and finished second on five occasions. Canada roster Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS) Tom McGill, Brighton & Hove Albion (England) Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United (MLS) Defenders Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS) Derek Cornelius, Olympique de Marseille (France) Luc De Fougerolles, Fulham (England) Jamie Knight-Lebel, Bristol City (England) Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS) Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland) Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS) Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia) Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS) Midfielders Ali Ahmed, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS) Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy) Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland) Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal) Ismael Kone, Olympique de Marseille (France) Jayden Nelson, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS) Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS) Nathan Saliba, CF Montreal (MLS) Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS) Forwards Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France) Promise David, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium) Daniel Jebbison, AFC Bournemouth (England) Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain) Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS)
