Latest news with #Baddeck
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Home support workers in Baddeck, N.S., vote in favour of strike
Workers at Victoria County Home Support Service (VCHSS) in Baddeck, N.S., voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike late last week. The local union that represents the workers cites lack of guaranteed hours, wages, and wear and tear on personal vehicles for the decision. 'After four years out of contract and seven months of bargaining, we're tired of waiting for the Nova Scotia government and our employer to recognize our issues,' said Trish Lewis-Pierrard, president of CUPE 4354, in a Tuesday news release. Lewis-Pierrard said the service provider only had one new hire last year. 'When I started in 2007, we had 26 CCAs on staff. Now we have 16. That isn't sustainable. New graduates need to want to come to VCHSS for their career and stay, and that's not going to happen with unstable hours and low wages,' she said. CUPE home support sector coordinator Kathy MacLeod added it is difficult for workers to make long term plans due to fluctuating hours. 'Every week, their hours and pay can change based on the clients. This doesn't happen in any other sector. No CCA in long term care or at the hospitals has their pay change depending on how many residents or patients they see in a day,' she said in the release. The union is also asking for improved workplace safety language and better protections for CCAs working in the field. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
18-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Victoria Day long weekend serves as unofficial start of tourist season in Cape Breton
The May long weekend is the unofficial kickstart to tourist season in Cape Breton so there was a steady number of customers at the High Wheeler Cafe and Bakery in Baddeck, N.S., on Sunday. 'We've already seen in the first week, I think, numbers are up already this year,' said co-owner Nick Pino. The popular cafe along Baddeck's main street just opened for the season after significant renovations for what they expect will be a busy spring and summer. 'The last couple of months too, even with the coffee business we've seen a lot more local support,' Pino said. 'I know people are travelling shorter distances.' Pino said if the rest of the summer is like the first week it's going to be a great season for everyone. Destination Cape Breton CEO Terry Smith said their website's traffic hit record levels last year and is 50 per cent higher so far this year. He said he expects Cape Breton will benefit from people who are hesitant to travel to the U.S. and are instead planning vacations within Canada. 'We expect to be getting a fair number of those folks, and from what I'm hearing nationally it's looking like many people are choosing either the East Coast or the West Coast, so I think we're really going to benefit from that,' Smith said. The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck welcomed its first visitors of the season on the weekend but next weekend promises to be bigger. The Cabot Trail Relay Race takes place May 24 and 25 and finishes on Baddeck's Main Street on Sunday morning. 'It's my favourite day of the year and that is a ginormous head start for our business and all the businesses around here,' Pino said The race typically brings more than 1,000 runners and spectators to the village. Race organizers said they estimate the event brings approximately $1.7 million to businesses in communities along the Cabot Trail each year. High Wheeler Cafe A customer is pictured at the counter of the High Wheeler Cafe and Bakery in Baddeck, N.S. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
