Ottawa – May 5, 2020 – UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema appeared on Global TV’s The West Block this past Sunday to discuss the recent outbreaks of COVID-19 at two Alberta meat-packing plants represented by UFCW, and to talk about the measures that our union is calling for to better protect the health and safety of workers at the plants.
Vancouver – May 4, 2020 – A new Angus Reid survey on Canadian attitudes and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic finds that the coronavirus has dramatically changed grocery shopping habits in Canada, with families saying they are buying more food and spending more on groceries than is normally the case.
Hamilton, Ont. – May 2, 2020 – Julian Filippi is one of eighteen winners of the UFCW Canada – BDM Scholarship. Currently enrolled in the Business Administration Accounting program at the Sheridan College Pilon School of Business, Julian is a proud UFCW Local 12R24 member who works at The Beer Store.
Toronto – May 1, 2020 – UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema recently spoke with RadioLabour, an internationally web syndicated radio station, to talk about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on UFCW members working in the food retail and meat processing sectors, and to discuss the actions that our union is taking to protect the health, safety, and dignity of workers on the front lines.
Richmond Hill, Ont. – April 30, 2020 – UFCW Local 333, the leading union for security guards in Ontario, is calling on Premier Doug Ford to remedy the critical shortage of security guards in the province in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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May marks the celebration of Asian Heritage Month, a time to recognize the invaluable contributions of people of Asian descent to Canada’s social, political, economic, scientific, and cultural landscape.
Despite being officially declared by the Canadian government in 2002, Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated since the 1990s. Asian Canadians share a rich diversity in origin, language, and religion, among other facets of cultural identity.
Asian Canadians make up a significant portion of the national population. According to Statistics Canada, in 2016 a total of 6,095,235 people in Canada reported having Asian origins, representing 17.7 percent of the population. In 2016, South Asian and Chinese communities were the two largest visible minority groups in Canada. It is projected that by 2036, immigrants born in Asia could represent between 55.7 and 57.9 percent of all immigrants here.
Despite the immeasurable contributions of Asian Canadians, the impact of structural inequalities continues to be at the root of anti-Asian hate. Historically, we remember the resistance of Asian Canadians who fought against the Chinese Exclusion Head Tax, the internment of Japanese peoples during World War II, and the resistance against Canada’s continuous journey regulation that restricted passengers of the Komagata Maru from entering the country.
Today, these struggles involve fighting to counter anti-Asian racism. Simply put, many workers do not feel safe in their communities. A 2021 Angus Reid poll found that 71 percent of Asians in Canada cited a worsening in racism and discrimination. A 2022 University of Victoria study also found that two-thirds of respondents who identified as first or second-generation Chinese Canadian had some experience of being treated disrespectfully.
Celebrating Asian Heritage Month means remaining steadfast in challenging racism and discrimination by supporting progressive calls to action that are community- and member-led, and by supporting workers through strong collective bargaining protections and opportunities to celebrate this date of observance across the country.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union
