International Operating Engineer - Fall 2015

Canadian News
Historic Federal Election Sees Liberals Take Majority
Trudeau promises more infrastructure, better labour relations
Canadian Conference 2015:
A focus on political activism
other groups that were isolated and
targeted by Stephen Harper.
The Liberals also announced $25
million for union training centres and
reinvestment of training equipment.
They plan to continue to support the
provinces in skills training delivery with
renewed labour market agreements.
THE CANADIAN Regional
Conference was hosted this year by the
Atlantic Region at the end of August in
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Many of the meetings and speakers
focused on the Canadian Federal
election. The Election Writ had been
dropped on Sunday, August 2.
Senator Cowan provided a
recap and personal thoughts on the
process through which Bill C-377 was
developed and passed through both
the House of Commons and the Senate.
He also expanded on what changes
must be made to the Senate to make it
an effective and respected voice for all
Canadians.
[above] Prime Minister-elect Justin Trudeau speaks at Local 793’s head office in Oakville, Ontario on August 27 where he proposed
increasing the country’s investment in infrastructure. [photo] Grant Cameron/Local 793
LASTING A TOTAL of 78 days,
Canadians endured one of the longest
federal elections in Canadian history.
On October 19, the nearly ten year
rein of Stephen Harper’s Conservative
Government came to an end. The
Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau,
who had begun the election campaign
in a distant third place, won the election
with a significant majority. Prior to the
election the Liberals had just 34 seats
in Parliament, but emerged with a
majority 184 seats on election day.
In addition to being one of the
longest elections in Canadian history,
this election also produced the greatest
voter turnout in nearly 22 years, at
just over 68% of eligible voters casting
ballots. The Liberals plan to act quickly
on their priorities and promises. Prime
Minister-elect Justin Trudeau and his
Federal Cabinet will be officially sworn
in on November 4 and it is expected that
Parliament will be called back before
December.
Both the Liberals and the New
Democratic Party (NDP) ran on a
campaign of “Change,” while the
Conservatives ran on their economic
record. The Liberals were able to
distinguish themselves from the NDP
and became the chosen agent of
change. The turning point occurred
on August 27, when the Liberals
announced a historic new investment
in infrastructure at IUOE Local 793’s
Oakville training facility.
Standing alongside dozens of IUOE
members, Trudeau promised that
the Liberals would nearly double the
government’s investment in building
infrastructure to $125 billion, from
the current $65 billion, over the next
decade. This meant the Liberals will
run a small budget deficit over the next
few years to pay for these investments,
while the NDP promised that they
would not run a deficit.
This bold approach to rebuilding
the nation’s roads, bridges and transit
systems, while creating thousands
of construction jobs, shifted the
momentum of the campaign. The
Liberals began to increase their support
almost daily all the way through to
election day.
On other important issues to the
Operating Engineers, the Liberals have
promised to repeal several pieces of
anti-union legislation—Bills C-377 and
C-525 in particular—enacted under the
Conservative government. The Liberals
want more collaboration and a stronger
working relationship with labour and
This federal election marked the
first time the IUOE took an active role
in Canadian political campaigning.
The International and Local unions
invested a significant amount of time
and resources to educate and mobilize
the membership. Members received
direct mail, were contacted by phone
and directed to the website www.
engineersaction.ca to learn more about
the parties’ positions and federal voting
procedures.
The IUOE believed that our
membership, as well as middleclass
Canadians, would continue
to suffer under another Stephen
Harper Government. The Harper
administration spent nearly a decade
undercutting labour unions and the
middle-class with policies that favored
corporate interests over working people.
Under the Conservative Government,
the Canadian economy had fallen into
recession and had faced six straight
deficits.
Canada needed a change. Operating
Engineers were there throughout the
campaign and now have an opportunity
to work with a new government to
advance the interests of our members
and their families. IUOE looks forward
to working with the Liberal government
and holding them accountable to their
promises as they implement policies
that benefit all working people in
Canada.
Among the guests invited to speak
at the conference were two Members
of Parliament running for re-election,
Megan Leslie (NDP) and Roger Cuzner
(Liberal), as well as Senator Larry
Cowan, Leader of the Opposition in
the Senate, and Hassan Yussuff, the
president of the Canadian Labour
Congress (CLC).
Leslie spoke to the Operating
Engineers assembled in Halifax about
the value of our work and contribution
to Canadian infrastructure, and
about the balance Canada needs to
strike between jobs like ours and the
environment. She was not re-elected
on October 19th, despite being well
respected by all parties for her work on
the environment file. She was a casualty
of the so-called ‘red wave’ which
brought in a surprise Liberal majority.
As a Liberal, Cuzner handily won his
re-election in October. At the conference
he spoke about the Conservatives’
anti-labour policies, like Bill C-377
and C-525, and how the Conservatives
were trying to divide Canadians. He
focused on how the Liberals would be
more respectful of all Canadians and
how they would work with the labour
movement. At the top of their campaign
agenda was repealing Bills C-377 and
C-525. While in opposition, Mr. Cuzner
had served as the Liberal parties Labour
critic.
Yussuff spoke about the need
to defeat Stephen Harper and the
Conservatives and reminded us of their
attacks on Canadian labour rights and
Canadian values. He touched on the
“Better Choice” campaign which was
the campaign the CLC was running up
to and during the election. Yussuff also
emphasized how mean spirited and
divisive the Conservative Government
had been to Canadians and how it
would only get worse if they were reelected.
On the final day, a resolution was
unanimously adopted which said the
IUOE in Canada would adopt an “ABC”
campaign – Anyone But Conservative
campaign—which meant the IUOE
would support either NDP or Liberal
candidates depending on which had
the best chance to defeat a Conservative
on a riding-by-riding basis. We were
successful in that campaign.
Though the political and other
business discussion were serious and of
utmost importance, the conference, as
always, was a chance for union sisters
and brothers to gather socially and reacquaint
themselves. One particular
highlight was an elaborate lobster
dinner organized by our hosts at the
famous Shore Club outside of Halifax.
The host locals are to be congratulated
for the wonderful conference they put
together which was thoroughly enjoyed
by all who attended.
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
FALL 2015 19