Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Everyone should have the right to join a union if they want to.

Did you know that students who work under the Federal Student Work Experience Program are banned from joining a union? The definition of employee in the Public Service Labour Relations Act excludes student, casual, and short-term workers from access to collective bargaining.

This provision prevents these workers from becoming union members and enjoying the rights and protections afforded to them by membership in a union, including the right to bargain collectively and access to the grievance process.

The PSAC thinks this is unfair and has filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government that argues that this violates the Article 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the freedom of association.

We are also undertaking a number of initiatives to demonstrate that our charter challenge has the support of student workers and of the public at large.

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There are several opportunities coming up in the next while to meet with your Member of Parliament.

Meet your MP – Libby Davies’ Family BBQ – Vancouver

• Sun, July 12, 1pm � 4pm
• Mclean Park, Vancouver
• Libby Davies’ 3rd Annual MacLean Park Family Barbeque Libby Davies and Strathcona Community Centre invite you and your family to an East Van Barbeque. … good eats and great summer fun. The event is free. For more information phone 604-775-5800 or email daviel@parl.gc.ca

Meet Your MP – Ujjal Dosanjh Summer Community BBQ – Vancouver

• Sat, July 18, 1pm � 4pm
• Memorial South Park, Vancouver
• Summer Community BBQ With the Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh� at Memorial South Park E41st Ave at Prince Albert St (Between Fraser St & Night St)

Meet Your MP – Joyce Murray – Vancouver

• Sun, July 19, 11:30am � 1:00pm
• Kitsilano Farmer’s Market, 10th and Larch
• Joyce Murray will be at the Kits Farmers Market (10th and Larch) on July 19 and August 9 from 11:30-1pm.

Meet Your MP – Hedy Fry Town Hall meeting – Vancouver

• Tue, July 21, 6pm � 8pm
• 3161 Ontario Street Vancouver BC V5T 2Z1
• Our next Town Hall Tuesday is set for Tuesday, July 21, at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre from 6PM – 8PM. Dr Fry will be listening to constituents concerns on any and all issues they wish to bring to the floor. 3161 Ontario Street Vancouver BC V5T 2Z1

Toronto � Federal candidates across the country are being asked to make a Commitment to Food Safety as part of a national campaign launched in Toronto this morning.

�The outbreaks of listeriosis due to tainted food products have shaken the country�s confidence in our food protection system. The system is broken and needs fixing,� says Patty Ducharme, Executive Vice-President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

The campaign features a website � www.foodsafetyfirst.ca � which allows visitors to send a message to ask local candidates to take make a Commitment to Food Safety, a four-point action plan to fix the system. Radio, print and online ads will be used during the federal election to spread the word about the campaign, as will events across the country.

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper today established an Advisory Committee of nine eminent Canadians to advise him and the Clerk of the Privy Council on the renewal and future development of the Public Service of Canada. The Advisory Committee will also report annually as part of the Clerk’s report to the Prime Minister on the state of the Public Service, which is tabled in Parliament.

“The public service must continue to adapt to meet the changing realities of Canadian society and be well equipped to best serve Canadians in the coming years,” the Prime Minister said. “This is particularly true as the current baby boom generation retires. The future development of the Public Service requires sound advice, innovative solutions and strong support from both within and outside government.”

Read more at pm.gc.ca.

OTTAWA – The Conservatives may talk about transparency but the Speech from the Throne was far from clear on the details of the government’s plans for the upcoming session of Parliament according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“The Speech was long on rhetoric but short on specifics,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “PSAC members will be waiting for the real news when the government tables its Accountability Act and its first budget.”

According to Turmel, “the Conservatives are promising ‘real protection for whistleblowers’, but we have yet to see just what that means. Real protection for our members means a guarantee of no reprisals and real penalties levied against anyone who breaks that guarantee.”

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Things aren’t all bad for former Liberal MP Reg Alcock, after being unseated in a surprise defeat Monday night.

After 12 years, two months, and 20 days in office, the outgoing Treasury Board president will collect an estimated $83,897 in an annual pension, or approximately $6,991 per month. Manitobans also needn’t mourn for losing Independent MP Bev Desjarlais, who’ll walk away from serving the Churchill riding since June 1997 with an estimated $40,072 pension per year.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, 66 MPs who were defeated in Monday’s election or left politics before the vote stand to collect $74.6 million in pensions and severance. Four of the 66 retiring MPs, all of them Liberals, could each collect more than $3 million before they turn 75, estimates calculated by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation suggest.

Alcock rounded out the top 10 list of pension-getting ex-MPs: he’s set to receive more than $1.9 million by the time he hits the age of 75.

Read more at the Brandon Sun.