Wednesday January 8 2025
2023-2027/195
A new year has begun, and with it, the Union faces new challenges and new opportunities. The first five months of 2025 are shaping up to be particularly important. Public hearings for Commissioner William Kaplan’s Industrial Inquiry Commission are scheduled to begin January 27 and 28. While the hearings will take place in Ottawa, proceedings will be livestreamed for wider viewing. Mr. Kaplan is due to publish his final report on May 15.
On the same dates, the Union will appear before the Canada Industrial Relations Board to present our legal challenge to Minister of Labour Steven MacKinnon’s section 107 order. forcing us back to work without new collective agreements.
It is hard to overstate the importance of both the Kaplan Commission and our legal challenge to section 107. The future of our public post office and our Charter-protected rights to free and fair collective bargaining are on the line. We will need to mount an all-out effort, with active support from the entire membership alongside our allies in the labour and social justice movements, to ensure we come out of these processes successfully.
Shifting Political Landscape
At the same time, the political landscape is changing rapidly. On January 6, we learned that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Governor General Mary Simon to prorogue Parliament until March 24. The Prime Minister also announced that he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party once the party has chosen a new leader.
The proroguing of Parliament can have significant implications for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the broader labour movement. By suspending parliamentary activities, critical discussions, debates, and legislative processes concerning workers’ rights, labour laws, or union-specific issues may be delayed or abandoned. This interruption can stall progress on key reforms that CUPW and other unions might be advocating for, such as improved working conditions, wage increases, or protections for gig economy workers. Additionally, prorogation may limit the opportunity for unions to engage with policymakers and influence labour-related legislation. For the broader labour movement, this could create an environment of uncertainty and hinder the momentum of collective actions or campaigns aimed at addressing systemic issues in the workforce. It underscores the importance of unions maintaining public pressure and mobilizing grassroots support to keep their priorities on the political agenda, even during periods of parliamentary inactivity.
A federal election as early as the spring is now a real possibility.
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In Solidarity!
Jan Simpson
National President