Internal investigation underway at Hamilton Community Legal Clinic after rupture with Indigenous committee

Audrey Davis, left, and Lyndon George, also named NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun, right, are members of the Indigenous advocacy group Circle of Beads.
In 2024, they called for an Indigenous council seat outside of City Hall. (Samantha Beattie/CBC)

 

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Internal investigation underway at Hamilton Community Legal Clinic after rupture with Indigenous committee | CBC News

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Organization: COPE Ontario (Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union - Ontario Council) Location: Toronto, Ontario (Hybrid work model available) Position Type: Full-Time, One-Year Contract Start Date: April 1, 2026 (flexible) Application Deadline: February 27, 2026.

About COPE Ontario

COPE Ontario is the provincial arm of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, representing thousands of workers across Ontario in office, professional, and technical roles. We are committed to advocating for fair wages, safe working conditions, and progressive labour policies. Our mission is to empower our members through collective action, education, and community engagement.

Position Overview

We are seeking a dynamic and creative Communications Officer to join our team on a one-year contract. This role is pivotal in amplifying our voice, engaging our members, and driving political action campaigns. The successful candidate will report to the Director and collaborate with union leadership to enhance our visibility and impact.

Key Responsibilities

  • Social Media Management: Develop and execute social media strategies across platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Create engaging content, monitor trends, respond to inquiries, and analyze performance metrics to grow our online presence.
  • Internal Communications: Facilitate effective communication with COPE members through newsletters, email updates, intranet postings, and member events. Ensure timely dissemination of union news, policy updates, and resources to foster member engagement and solidarity.
  • External Communications for Political Action Campaigns: Lead the development and implementation of communication plans for political advocacy initiatives. This includes crafting press releases, media kits, campaign messaging, and coordinating with external partners to mobilize public support for labor rights and social justice issues.

 Additional duties may include supporting event promotions, website updates, and crisis communication as needed.

 

This year marks 30 years that we have been celebrating Black History Month.

But Black people have been part of the history of what we know as Canada. When the Europeans met the Mi’kmaq on the east coast hundreds of years ago, there were Black faces among the newcomers.

At every stage in the history of Canada, Black people have been there, in historic communities in Ontario, Nova Scotia and  elsewhere – building, contributing, making the country what it is today.

Too often, Black stories are erased. On this 30th history of celebrating Black History Month, we acknowledge that history and the journey toward fairness and equality.

That struggle continues along with the contributions of Black people in Canada – past, present and future.

October 29, 2025

Annette Toth, President of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE), has released this statement in response to the Government of Alberta’s use of the notwithstanding clause to attack the rights of teachers and to end the teachers’ strike. COPE represents tens of thousands of union workers in both the public and private sector across Canada:

COPE strongly condemns the Government of Alberta and Premier Danielle Smith’s assault on the rights of the striking teachers in Alberta by invoking the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work.

No matter how the Government of Alberta attempts to frame it, this is nothing but an attack on the fundamental rights of teachers who are exercising their rights as workers and doing their part to defend public education and students in Alberta by asking the government to address critical issues that are affecting the educational experience, including class sizes and the need for student support.

By taking this action, the Government of Alberta is also showing they have little regard for workers’ rights in general and would be willing to use this method to attack workers and union members in any sector as they see fit.

Our union, and our tens of thousands of members across the country, stands in solidarity with the teachers in Alberta, and with the Alberta Teachers’ Association, in their continued efforts to defend public education and workers’ rights in the face of a government that has shown little regard for either.

 :kc

See original statement

 

Next week, Canadians observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day, an important step on the road to remaking colonial relationships with Indigenous peoples. 

There's always the risk that putting the date in the calendar will be taken as a sign of mission accomplished, but nothing could be farther from the truth. 

In fact, recent moves by the federal and Ontario governments seem to be moving us backward, not forward. Bill C-5 in the House of Commons and Bill 5 in Ontario undermine the constitutional obligation to consult First Nations on natural resource development proposals. Mark Carney, Doug Ford and their governments have disrespected Indigenous peoples and not treated them as equal partners. 

The rush to cut, dig and mine wilderness areas — many of which are Treaty territory or subject to land claims — put unions in a difficult position. On the one hand, high-paying jobs for our members would be welcome at this economically uncertain time. 

But what of our obligations to support truth and reconciliation? Unions have worked hard on internal equity and being allies of Indigenous peoples. But the words of our land acknowledgements will ring allow if we desert first peoples to sit with governments and corporations to advance their interests rather than those of Indigenous peoples. 

On September 30, let us all — individuals and unions — be mindful of the crimes of the past, recommit ourselves to the hard work of reconciliation, and work with and not against the aspirations of Indigenous peoples. 

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