Bruce-Grey-Owen-Sound NDP Riding
  • About BGOS NDP
  • BGOS Federal
  • BGOS Ontario
  • Submissions, Issues & Resourses
    • Renegotiating NAFTA
    • Ontario Workplace Reforms (Bill 148) Submission
    • Submission from BGOS to Commons Standing Committee on International Trade regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership
    • Submission to Federal Government Consultation on Affordable Housing Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound NDP 20 October 2016
    • Electoral Reform
    • Final Report from Precarious Work Group
    • Precarious Work - Living Wage
    • NDP Aboriginal Commission
    • Neoliberal angst and the Greek economy
    • Women
    • Health Care
    • Great Lakes, Water Issues
  • Media
    • News Clippings
  • Fixing Democracy
  • Submission to Ontario on Payday Loan Companies
  • FB Gallery
  • Membership
    • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
  • Photos & Video
  • BGOS Map
  • YOUTH - Bruce-Grey Owen Sound New Democratic
  • Events
  • Rules of a strike FAQ
  • 2019 Provincial Resolutions to consider
  • Chris Stephen Bio

Remember Labour this Labour Day - September 5th

8/26/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureBy David McLaren, Labour Rep
The summer must be nearing its end if Labour Day is around the corner. I can’t help but note a couple of things that’ll make this summer a little harder to forget.
 
Summerfolk in Owen Sound was bigger and better than ever. It’s always good to see the arts celebrated, if only because they contribute hugely to the economy of a place (more even that sports, if you can believe it). But the arts themselves, never mind the economic spinoff, are something no country should be without, for artists in a myriad of ways reflect us to ourselves – all the good, the bad and the ugly.
 
Speaking of ‘hugely’ the Donald is slipping in the American election race and Ms Clinton’s chances are improving (the New York Times says she now has an 88% chance to win). Those who are horrified at the thought of hearing ‘Hail to the Chief’ being played for President Trump can breathe a little easier. But those who know that Ms Clinton, like our own Liberals, campaigns left and will rule from the rightare worried. For myself, I miss the Bern.
 
The Olympics are always an inspiration – at least the athletes are … well maybe not Ryan Lochte. I only wish the Olympics were as good as the athletes. You have to ask yourself … an indebted city(Montreal lost $1 billion, Rio is privatizing water to pay for its Games), forced evictions, the raising of whole neighbourhoods, sewage treatment plants still not built … is a 2-week blow-out really worth it?
 
An awful lot of money is spent by the host country, money that might be better spent on housing, social programs and environmental cleanup. We didn’t even do that well, compared to other countries our size.
 
I hope you can join us for the annual Labour Day parade in Port Elgin this year. If you come, look for the orange BGOS NDP banner and walk with us. It’s one of he biggest parades in Ontario now: pipe bands, union members from all over are bussed it, lots of flags. Labour Day is not a celebration of jobs, it’s a recognition for what unions have fought for over the past century: workplace safety, a 40-hour work week, a middleclass wage, vacation time, sick time, bereavement leave. The actual list is longer. We take a lot of this for granted now and we hate to see these gains erode as they are indeed doing under successive Conservative and Liberal governments.
 
To walk for labour on September 5th, rally in the parking lot of Home Hardware on the way into Port Elgin (924 Goderich St) at 10:30 am. After the parade, Unifor is hosting a BBQ at their Family Education Centre. Buses will shuttle people there and back to their cars.

​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    July 2019
    August 2018
    January 2018
    September 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015

    BGOS Calendar
    Join Newsletter Here
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.