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"With Prime Minister Trudeau, we seem to have an opportunity to put the concerns of working Canadians back on the agenda. It’s up to us to seize that opportunity and ensure our concerns stay on the agenda." — NUPGE National President James Clancy
OTTAWA (10 Nov. 2015) – The National Union is congratulating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for recommitting this morning to repeal two recent anti-labour laws, and also for taking an important symbolic step towards rebuilding trust between the federal government and the country’s workers.
“It was heartening to hear first-hand that Prime Minister Trudeau intends to honour his campaign commitment to repeal laws C-377 and C-525,” said James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). “Those laws would have hurt millions of Canadians, and it is important that they be repealed as soon as possible.”
First time in 50 years that a PM has met with the CLC
Trudeau explicitly committed to repealing those two bills during an address to the Canadian Council of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). The Canadian Council is the democratically elected group of more than 120 labour leaders from across the country who govern the CLC between its conventions. It was the first time in more than 50 years that a sitting Prime Minister had met with the leaders of the CLC.
“Not since John Diefenbaker has a Prime Minister met with the largest labour organization in the country. That speaks volumes about just how unrepresentative our governments have become,” said Clancy.
“With Prime Minister Trudeau, we seem to have an opportunity to put the concerns of working Canadians back on the agenda,” he said. “It’s up to us to seize that opportunity and ensure our concerns stay on the agenda.”
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 360,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good.