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Human Rights Watch staff in Canada vote to unionize with COPE Local 225.
They chose a path rooted in justice and collective strength. It’s time for the employer to demonstrate integrity by supporting—not resisting—their right to organize.
When those who fight for justice every day choose to unionize, the message is clear:
Human rights begin at home.
It’s time for their employer to live up to the values it promotes.
#HumanRightsWatch #HumanWatchCanada #CWALocal1180 #COPElocal225
Community members held a rally Monday at the Hamilton Legal Community Clinic saying Indigenous voices are not being heard or respected.
Those who participated say the clinic has broken its “Indigenous Justice initiative,” and the clinic no longer has an Indigenous liaison to help those in need.
A group of concerned people say the non-profit Community Legal Clinic serving low income residents of Hamilton is suppressing Indigenous voices by not providing access to an Indigenous liaison.
“When you are working with Indigenous people, you need Indigenous people to advise and guide you on how to best work with us. So when you ignore that, that’s oppression. That’s like, we’ll tell you how we’re gonna service you or how we are going to work with you, and that’s not equality,” said Audrey Davis, a concerned community member.
In 2013, the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic established an Indigenous Justice initiative with the goal of building relationships between the clinic and the Indigenous community.
Part of that agreement was providing an Indigenous Justice coordinator to act as a knowledge keeper and liaison between the Indigenous community and the clinic.
However, those rallying say that Indigenous Justice coordinator, named Lyndon George, is gone and is no longer representing the community.
“He is very much an active participant in the community. Yes, he is well liked. He sits at many tables. He takes the lead on a lot of the work and is just a good Indigenous, two-spirited man,” said Davis.
The executive director at the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic declined to comment on the rally.
In the clinic’s own report, they write that this Indigenous Justice coordinator “plays a critical role in connecting Indigenous clients to the services they need.”
Those rallying say the clinic needs to listen to Indigenous voices because communication has broken down, and trust has been lost.
“I hope that the Hamilton Legal Clinic responsibly and honourably addresses these concerns and then further takes the steps to conduct their organization in a better way,” said Myka Burning, another concerned community member.
They say the clinic is not respecting its own agreement.
Hamilton legal clinic faces backlash over Indigenous representation concerns
This coming Saturday (June 21) is a day of great spiritual, cultural and political significance for the First Peoples of Canada.
It is the day of the summer solstice, a time to celebrate and give thanks for the bounty and beauty of this time of year and for having survived another winter. For many nations, it was a time to leave the interior and head to summer areas closer to water, where they often would meet up with relations they had not seen since the last gathering time.
June 21 is also a day for all communities to honour the Indigenous Peoples of Canada and their lands on which this country was built, a time to acknowledge and respect Indigenous and Treaty rights. Sadly, those rights appear to be forgotten in the current discourse over fast-tracking development in the interests of spurring Canadian economic development.
Indigenous Peoples will not accept such a disrespecting of their rights, nor should any citizen of Canada. The fight to protect land and culture began with the arrival of the Europeans. It will continue, no matter how inconvenient that might be for politicians trying to make haste.
A number of COPE/SEPB locals in Ontario have called on COPE National to postpone its convention scheduled for this week in Winnipeg.
The province has declared a state of emergency because of wildfires, and First Nations leaders have called on conferences to be cancelled so that hotel rooms can be provided to the thousands of evacuees, some of whom have been sleeping on cots.
COPE locals supporting the statement urge the national union to act in a spirit of reconciliation and answer the call of First Nations leadership.
With equity, diversity and inclusion under attack south of the border and elsewhere, Pride Month 2025 is even more timely and important.
Pride Month speaks not only to freedom for 2SLGBTQ+ communities, but for the right of every person to live their lives fully and authentically, in safety and without fear.
There are events across the province this month and into September. The biggie, as usual, will be Toronto Pride Weekend from June 26 to 29, centred in the Church-Wellesley Village.
Here, thanks to the Ontario Federation of Labour, is a list of events taking place across the province. Chances are, there’s an event taking place near you. See you there!
Research by University of Ottawa researchers should be a wakeup call for the Ontario government.
Punching, biting, kicking and throwing things at educational assistants and teachers are increasing at alarming rates.
A key factor is lack of funding that leads to overcrowded classrooms, fewer educational assistants and unequal access to assessments for students.
“These are exactly the conditions that exacerbate workplace violence,” says Dr. Chris Bruckert, Chair of the Department of Criminology, who launched the Violence and Harassment Against Educators Project in 2018.
Evacuating the classroom has become almost a daily occurrence for many education workers. Nearly half the 6,000 support staff and teachers who were interviewed also reported harassment from parents.
This epidemic of violence is bad not only for workers but for students. How long will the Ford government continue to live in denial and financially starve our Ontario education system?
https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/news-all/distressing-levels-workplace-violence-ontario-schools