LRC Food Banks' Garden Volunteer Meeting

On Wed., Apr. 4 at 12:15pm, we'll be holding our Food Banks' Garden Volunteer Meeting at the Lethbridge Research Centre Cafeteria Conference Room. Danielle from the Interfaith Food Bank will be on hand to speak with us. Please attend if you are interested in our Food Bank Garden and/or wish to volunteer. A regular weekly commitment, an occasional hour or two over the summer, harvest help - all volunteerism is appreciated.

Want to volunteer? Email LRCgarden@yahoo.ca

Follow the garden's blog - lrcgarden.blogspot.com

Canada Budget 2012: CFIA Cuts Mean Food Labelling Lies Will Have To Be Policed By Consumers

"The federal government’s decision to stop policing nutrition claims on food labels threatens Canadians’ health and leaves consumers with little recourse when food labels are wrong, the head of an agricultural union says."


More here -
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/30/canada-budget-2012-cfia-cuts_n_1391708.html?ref=canada

This should be a concern to all Canadians. Please pass this on.

Rally against Election Fraud

We will meet at MP Jim Hillyer's Office (255 8th St S. Lethbridge, AB) and walk to the corner of Stafford Drive and 3rd Ave

We call for the SECOND TIME on ALL CANADIANS to join in a PROTEST on SATURDAY, March 31, in every city across Canada.

This is a NON-PARTISAN call for Canadians to STAND FOR Canadian DEMOCRACY!

We the people of Canada demand  a FULL PUBLIC INQUIRY now into fraudulent ROBOCALLS!

Get  Fraud out of Parliament NOW!

Facebook event here -
https://www.facebook.com/events/192928777483503/?__adt=12

From Democracy Canada -
Dear Friends,
Thank you for the support that made the March 11 protests a success. They raised awareness!
We had 32 cities participate on March 11!
We are proud of all of you and particularly proud and moved with our friends at Iqaluit standing for Democracy at -27 holding their signs, saying to the country "we care"!
 Our work just begun!
Please register at facebook event and invite friends:  http://www.facebook.com/events/388129707864596/
From DemocracyCanada's initial call on February 27, we have come a long way.
Lets work for broader community participation across the country!
This is a NON-PARTISAN initiative and encourage everyone involved to pursue this, not for any specific party but for our Canadian Democracy, for the Canada we know and love!
DemocracyCanada ( www.facebook.com/DemocracyCanada   ) will support all the cities with any help they need. Please email us at dc@DemocracyCanada.ca
This is an event initiated and organized by DemocracyCanada, a NON-PARTISAN organization across Canada!
We welcome support from all individuals and organizations but ask them to respect the NON-PARTISAN, citizen initiated nature of these events! This is an effort initiated, organized and executed for Canadian Democracy by Canadians! No organization represents or organizes this, but caring Canadians in every city acros our land!
We are Canadians defending Canadian Democracy!
We thank you for your support and enthusiasm!
We have a great country and now she needs your help! Will you be there?
Best NON-PARTISAN regards,
Friends of DemocracyCanada
www.facebook.com/DemocracyCanada
dc@DemocracyCanada.ca

Tony Clement is focused on jobs.....

This is an official response from Tony Clement. Why don't we all give him a phone call or email and ask why Public Service jobs don't count as a priority for this government? Big union isn't killing Canadian jobs, the Harper government is.

Contact info:
Telephone: 613-944-7740
Fax: 613-992-5092
E-Mail: tony.clement@parl.gc.ca

Job Creation, Economic Growth Remain Top Priority for Conservative Government

March 21, 2012

March 21, 2012

In response to the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s meeting today on the upcoming federal budget, Treasury Board President Tony Clement is releasing the following statement:

Our Conservative Government is squarely focused on what matters to Canadians – jobs and economic growth. While Canada’s job growth record is the best in the G-7 with over 610,000 net new jobs created since July 2009 (nearly 90% of them full-time jobs), ongoing economic challenges in Europe and the United States remain and the global economy is still very fragile.

That’s why we are focused on helping create jobs and economic growth for Canadians. Economic Action Plan 2012 will continue to focus on making Canada’s economy stronger for today and over the long-term, with prudent pro-economic growth initiatives and responsible spending of taxpayers’ dollars. It will not contain reckless new spending commitments or tax hikes that will kill jobs and reverse Canada’s economic growth.

While we’re focused on growing Canada’s economy with our low-tax and pro-trade plan, the Liberals, NDP and their big union agenda want to hike taxes that would kill Canadian jobs and engage in massive deficit spending that would cripple Canada now and into the future.

Sean Osmar
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
613-957-2666

http://www.tonyclement.ca/?p=756

Applauding Minister Raitt can result in a 72 hour job suspension at a private company

Aren't these suspended people essential to running this airline which serves Canada's public interest?
Isn't this the reason Minister Raitt has denied the collective bargaining right to strike?
Does personal insult to Minister Raitt trump Canada's public interest? It would seem so.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/23/air-canada-wildcat.html

Negotiations between TC bargaining team and Treasury Board have broken off

Negotiations for a new collective agreement between the TC bargaining team and Treasury Board have broken off.  Your Union will be referring pay and other outstanding issues to a conciliator.

The talks came to an end after Treasury Board insisted there was no money for TC members beyond the so-called “pattern settlement” – and then added insult to injury with a demeaning response to some of the Union’s proposals on retention and recruitment allowances.

http://www.psac-afpc.org/news/2012/bargaining/20120309-e.shtml

TC bargaining team signs off on more language, tables new wage proposal

February 28, 2012

Your TC Bargaining Team continued to make slow progress toward a new collective agreement in the latest round of negotiations with Treasury Board.

In a bargaining session that lasted from February 20th through February 24th, 2012, we signed off on more language and, in an effort to break the logjam on economic discussions, tabled a new wage proposal with Treasury Board.

Economic Proposals

• Your Team has withdrawn the demand for a market adjustment of 13.5 per cent contained in our economic package tabled on December 15, 2011.
• We maintained the proposal for wage increases of 3 per cent in each year of a three-year deal.
• We offered a new proposal for an additional increment of 4 per cent to be added to the top of all classifications, effective April 1, 2013.
• We also proposed that the bottom increment be removed from all classifications at the same time.
• All other proposals for allowances in the original economic package remain on the table.

Budget Freeze to Lift

When the Harper government froze budgets for the fiscal years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, it indicated that core funding for wages would resume in fiscal 2013. Several collective agreements have now been negotiated that provide for additional increases in 2013. For example, in the PA Collective Agreement, an additional increment for WPs will come into effect on April 13 2013. In negotiations with PIPSC, Land Surveyors are also slated to receive an additional increment in 2013.

Successive pay studies have shown that wages of TC members have fallen substantially behind their comparators, and the 13.5 per cent market adjustment was very defensible. Therefore your Bargaining Team feels that our amended proposal of an additional increment is more than reasonable. It delays additional increases until the second-last year of a new agreement and it would ensure a fair increase for all members of the bargaining unit, whereas proposed Appendix P allowances are limited to specific positions where your Bargaining Team was able to identify recruitment and retention issues.

Appendix P

The Employer did not respond to our proposals for terminable allowances under Appendix P, which were tabled in early February. Treasury Board has committed to providing us with a complete response at our next bargaining session.

Gender Identity and Expression

Your Bargaining Team is very pleased to report that we have signed off on new language under Article 19 – No Discrimination to include gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination.  This is an historic first. 

Bill C-389, legislation championed by former NDP MP Bill Siksay, which would have added gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, was passed in the last Parliament but did not make it through the Senate before the election last May.
PSAC has negotiated this language in many collective agreements, but this is the first agreement in the federal public service to include this language.

Leave for Union Business

We have signed off on new language in Article 14 – Leave With or Without Pay for Alliance Business, to allow leave without pay for an employee who is elected to a full-time position in PSAC.

Other Issues

All of the other outstanding issues between the parties were discussed, including critical language on Hours of Work (rest periods, shift scheduling, etc.) and acting pay.

Next bargaining session

Your Bargaining Team is looking forward to making more progress when bargaining resumes on March 5 – 8, 2012.

Questions ? 
tc-bargaining-negociations@psac-afpc.com