PressProgress
Award-winning Canadian journalism that:
🔎 Holds the rich & powerful accountable
🔎 Exposes unsafe & unfair workplaces
🔎 Shines a light on hate & bigotry
Mark Carney’s government is rushing through major changes to Canada’s labour laws. Unions say workers should be alarmed.
Unions are warning Carney’s government is planning to place limits on the right to strike and deliver other items on “Corporate Canada’s wish list”
Alberta separatist group’s controversial voter ID app has links to US Ambassador, MAGA influencers and wealthy Michigan Republicans
US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra says he was ‘not aware’ an American-made app he previously promoted was used to help an Alberta separatist group
Uber drivers in Victoria successfully bargained a collective agreement (!!), and here’s what they got:
https://pressprogress.ca/uber-drivers-victoria-union-contract/
The new union contract reins in Uber's "largely unfettered authority to do whatever it wants," say experts.
US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra Hosts Far-Right Activists and Right-Wing Media Personalities at ‘Fourth of July’ Party in Ottawa
US Embassy says Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich, who was convicted on criminal charges last year, was accredited as a journalist
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has recognized coercive control as a form of intimate partner violence.
The decision will especially help BIPOC women who face particular barriers in reporting and seeking compensation for abuse.
https://pressprogress.ca/supreme-court-intimate-partner-violence/
Over 20 Women Seeking Legal Support After Allegations of Voyeurism at BC FedEx Location
A local victim support organization said the victims are mostly international students.
International students have been a scapegoat for Canada's government, which cited pressures on the healthcare system when introducing a cap on study permits.
But FOI'd data shows international students have contributed nearly half a billion dollars directly to BC healthcare in the last 7 years.
https://pressprogress.ca/international-students-paying-for-bc-healthcare/
NEW: Group sending Canadian right-wing media personalities on free trips to Israel quietly funded by Israeli government
Documents unearthed by PressProgress show Israel's foreign ministry granted the Exigent Foundation $175,000 CAD to bring "Canadian influencers and policymakers" to Israel
Meet the "Fight Ford" protest movement that’s spreading across Ontario
As dissatisfaction with Doug Ford's government continues to grow, thousands have been turning up to monthly, province-wide rallies:
https://pressprogress.ca/fight-doug-ford-protest-movement-spreading-across-ontario/
A doctor was removed from the Ontario Medical Association's AGM for refusing to take off his watermelon pin.
"We want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable and safe," an OMA executive is heard explaining in audio of the incident.
https://pressprogress.ca/yipeng-ge-ontario-medical-association-watermelon-pin/
If a judge who's ex-military can recognize that homeless people have rights, why not Ontario's premier?
What Doug Ford should know about encampment residents:
https://pressprogress.ca/doug-ford-kitchener-encampment-charter-rights/
How the Government of Canada is (or is not) monitoring our homegrown hantavirus strain
With over 30% fatality rate and new evidence of cross-species transmission, researchers say the rare Sin Nombre virus needs more surveillance
Workers Who Clean Public Transit in BC and Ontario Say Their Employer is Undermining Their Rights
Workers allege harassment from management, a lack of cleaning supplies and unsafe working conditions.
https://pressprogress.ca/workers-who-clean-public-transit-in-bc-and-ontario-say-their-employer-is-undermining-their-rights/
Global News’ Ben Mulroney shared a video of airstrikes. The footage is actually from a video game.
The host of Global News’ The West Block gets lost in a misinformation-driven fog of war as American and Israeli forces strike Iran
Options for Overnight Heat Relief Lacking for Nearly A Million Households Without AC Amid Ontario Heatwave
As temperatures surpass records across the country, experts say cities need to do more to save lives during heat waves.
https://pressprogress.ca/limited-options-for-overnight-heat-relief-for-nearly-a-million-households-without-ac-amid-ontario-heatwave/
More than 100 Gazans have been accepted to Canadian universities.
Canada isn’t letting them in.
https://pressprogress.ca/gazans-accepted-to-canadian-universities-government-not-letting-in/
‘I’m Not Optimistic’: First Canadian Nursing Strike in Nearly Three Decades Under Way in BC
After first week of job action, union considers expanding picket lines to more hospitals
https://pressprogress.ca/im-not-optimistic-first-canadian-nursing-strike-in-nearly-three-decades-under-way-in-bc/
Western Standard: Canadians with German, Ukrainian and Dutch Bloodlines Are Not Pure ‘Ethnic Canadians’
A right-wing alternative media outlet gave a soap box to a white nationalist leader – you won’t believe what happened next
Here’s what changes to Freedom of Information laws mean for Ontario
Doug Ford is making it harder for reporters and the public to find things out about the province.
https://pressprogress.ca/heres-what-changes-to-freedom-of-information-laws-mean-for-ontario/
Number of COVID-19 Shots Delivered in Alberta Drops By Half, Following $100 Fee and Other Restrictions
“What we've heard over the last few months is extreme frustration from Albertans who were trying to use the booking system to get the vaccine.”
Alberta separatists kicked us out of their event after asking about American support.
“It’s not coziness. We have mutual interests."
https://pressprogress.ca/alberta-separatists-ejection-american-support/
Tuberculosis Outbreaks in Nunavik, Quebec Worsening While Province Ignores Calls to Declare Public Health Emergency
New research finds lack of resources, language barriers persist in this Inuit region, where Red Cross has been called to help with TB
Doug Ford got rid of Toronto’s school trustees.
At one school, things blew up.
Parents say that while issues at Bowmore predated the provincial takeover, the ensuing "chaos" should serve as a "warning sign for the entire public education system in Ontario":
Who is Barry Neufeld, the former school trustee who’s become a cause célèbre for the Canadian right?
Neufeld's history of incendiary comments goes beyond those that led BC's human rights tribunal to order he pay $750,000 to Chilliwack's LGBTQ teachers.
https://pressprogress.ca/barry-neufeld-bc-human-rights-tribunal/
Nova Scotia’s long-term care workers say the province has been misleading the public about their ongoing strike.
In particular, CUPE leaders aren't buying the suggestion that their members are uninformed.
https://pressprogress.ca/nova-scotia-long-term-care-strike-setting-record-straight/
Public healthcare is under threat. But what is the government actually doing about it?
How to save Canadian healthcare, with Dr. Danyaal Raza:
https://pressprogress.ca/danyaal-raza-how-to-save-canadian-healthcare/
"Racism is immoral. It is poison"
Jason Kenney is sounding off at the right-wing website Juno News for platforming a white nationalist
The white nationalist who advocates mass deportations is causing a rift between Alberta's former premier and a right-wing outlet run by his own former spokesperson
Jesse Brown insists he’s done nothing wrong
Banned from Reddit and accused of phishing critics, Canadaland’s founder is leading a chaotic 'investigation' into an army of sockpuppet accounts
https://pressprogress.ca/jesse-brown-insists-hes-done-nothing-wrong/
In the face of mounting reports alleging Indian government ties to transnational violence, Mark Carney affirms we're all "family."
Why he's being accused of "gaslighting" Canadian Sikhs:
https://pressprogress.ca/mark-carney-india-gaslighting-sikh-community/
The CLAC prides itself on being a "different kind of union," in that it doesn't believe in confrontation.
Sooo… What happens when workers want something else?
https://pressprogress.ca/clac-christian-labour-association-canada-explainer/
Sikh groups were frustrated by politicians’ responses to the targeting of Canadian Sikhs. So they threatened to bar them from photo ops.
It (mostly) worked.
https://pressprogress.ca/sikh-coalition-federal-parties-india-transparency/
A public servant texted Doug Ford's number to express concern with his government's return-to-office mandate.
They received a voicemail suggesting they "go get another job."
https://pressprogress.ca/public-servant-voicemail-doug-ford-get-another-job/
“Consolidation of Power” the Overarching Theme for Changes to Regional Governance in Ontario, Local Mayor Says
Fort Erie mayor says provincial changes to regional governance "jeopardize" smaller communities.
https://pressprogress.ca/consolidation-of-power-the-overarching-theme-for-changes-to-regional-governance-in-ontario-local-mayor-says/
Today, Canada's postal workers begin voting on new collective agreements. But CUPW's leadership is divided on what members should do.
The mixed signals that Canada Post workers are getting from their union:
https://pressprogress.ca/canada-post-cupw-voting-new-agreement/
With promises to roll back supports for 2SLGBTQ+ students and put restrictions on land acknowledgments, the contestants have been jockeying for a particular kind of right-wing cred.
These are the culture-war talking points popular with BC Conservative leadership candidates:
https://pressprogress.ca/bc-conservative-leadership-culture-war/
For years, Palestinian trade unions have been calling on global counterparts to stand in solidarity.
Now, activists are asking Canada’s largest labour body to do just that.
Alberta doesn't exempt Indigenous people from its $100 fee for COVID vaccines.
Though health advocates contend that amounts to a treaty violation, the federal government won't step in.
And while on-reserve clinics do offer it for free, most of the First Nations population in Alberta lives elsewhere.
https://pressprogress.ca/alberta-charging-indigenous-people-for-covid-vaccines/
Some Grocery Items Have Increased Dramatically In Price Since Last Year. “This is Unprecedented Inflation,” Experts Say.
Rising costs are contributing to food insecurity and tougher choices for Canadians.
https://pressprogress.ca/some-grocery-items-have-increased-dramatically-in-price-since-last-year-this-is-unprecedented-inflation-experts-say/
“If we have to go on strike, we will,” say Nova Scotia’s long-term care workers
Despite decades of experience, many make less than $20 an hour.
https://pressprogress.ca/nova-scotia-long-term-care-workers-prepared-to-strike/
How Palestine activists eked out a win at the Canadian Labour Congress
After some wrangling, Canada's biggest labour body agreed to cut ties with its Israeli counterpart:
https://pressprogress.ca/clc-histadrut-labour-for-palestine/
After a shooting at their office building, Hamilton city workers waited nearly an hour to get an emergency alert.
In the aftermath, the city said the system worked "as intended."
(They've since acknowledged room for improvement.)
https://pressprogress.ca/hamilton-jackson-square-emergency-alert/
Ontario’s Recent Policy Changes Are Part of a Larger Pattern to Centralize Power and Silence Dissent, Critics Say
Ford’s attempts to "streamline" the province are infringing on local democracy.
Tuberculosis Outbreaks Worsening in Nunavik While Quebec Government Ignores Calls to Declare Public Health Emergency
New research finds lack of resources, language barriers persist in this Inuit region, where Red Cross has been called to help with TB.
https://pressprogress.ca/tuberculosis-outbreaks-in-nunavik-quebec-worsening-while-province-ignores-calls-to-declare-public-health-emergency/
Three Canadian Provinces are on Board with Minimum Nurse-to-Patient Ratios. Here’s How Implementation is Going.
Manitoba just tabled legislation, while BC and Nova Scotia have implemented ratios through collective agreements.
NEW: Alberta independence leader calls on supporters to join Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party and nominate separatist UCP candidates
”It’s time now to join the UCP,” Alberta separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre told PressProgress


