For yank observers the C*nadian government has legislation that allows them to refer any strike action to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board without a vote from Parliament, and if CIRB rules against workers (which they always do) the strike becomes illegal and the union gets significant, prohibitive fines and potentially jailing of leadership if workers do not end their strike.

There has been criticism that the government's dependability in using this loophole to crush any major strike action (rail workers, posties are two very recent examples) then management has no responsibility for negotiating in good faith. This quote demonstrates that this is not just conspiracy theory but indeed exactly what is happening.

Anyways a big to the heroes who told CIRB to get fucked and kept striking anyways.

I think original quote source is here in this video, but I can't find a non-paywalled version

Dude was getting lonely not being able to micromanage the lives of government employees.

Text of the article at the time of posting:

Ontario ordering public servants back into office full time

Current mandate of 3 days a week has been provincial government policy since April 2022

Mike Crawley · CBC News · Posted: Aug 14, 2025 7:17 AM PDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

Premier Doug Ford's government is ordering Ontario public servants to work from the office four days a week starting this fall and then full-time in January.

It's a change from a policy that has been in place since April 2022, when provincial government employees were mandated to be in their offices at least three days per week.

Employees of the Ontario Public Service, provincial agencies, boards and commissions must "increase their attendance to four days per week" starting Oct. 20 and transition to full-time hours in-office effective Jan. 5, 2026, said Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney in an announcement Thursday. 

Ford says he believes government employees are more productive when they are in the office. 

"How do you mentor someone over a phone? You can't. You've got to look at them eye to eye," Ford said during an unrelated news conference Thursday in Pickering.

Ford also suggested having provincial workers return to the office is better for the economy, pointing out that many small businesses that rely on foot traffic from office workers have suffered due to remote work policies. 

"There's hard-working entrepreneurs that their business has basically just died when they weren't seeing the flow of traffic."

The news follows on the heels of announcements by four of Canada's big banks — RBC, Scotiabank, BMO and TD — that staff at their Toronto headquarters must spend at least four days a week in the office, effective this fall. 

'Everyone needs to go back to work,' says Ford

Ford said his government wasn't influenced by the bank mandates, but said business leaders he'd spoken with agree "everyone needs to go back to work." 

"We look forward to having everyone back; we're very grateful for the work they do. We have the best public service in Canada and I appreciate the work they do every day," he said.

Ontario's top bureaucrat, Secretary of Cabinet Michelle DiEmanuele, said in a memo obtained by CBC News that the decision "is in line with an increasing number of organizations across the public and private sectors."

The province's move comes just two weeks after it reached a new collective agreement with AMAPCEO, which represents some 14,000 professional, administrative and supervisory employees in the Ontario Public Service. 

The province was "hellbent on removing" employees' options for remote work during those negotiations, says AMAPCEO president Dave Bulmer. 

"I am incensed by this morning's announcement," said Bulmer in a message to union members. "We have shown that we can, and should, be treated as the capable, trustworthy professionals we are — professionals capable of working for Ontario from anywhere." 

Bulmer says there should be no changes for provincial employees who have a formal, signed agreement allowing them to work remotely, and says AMAPCEO members who want to work remotely should make an official request now.

Officials from OPSEU, the union that represents roughly half of the Ontario Public Service workforce, said they will issue a statement in response to the changes later on Thursday. 

The provincial government's single-largest office space in Toronto, the Macdonald Block complex, is undergoing a $1.5 billion renovation and has been shut down for six years. 

Staff of several provincial ministries have since been working from rented office space scattered around the city's downtown. 

Federal government employees are currently subject to a three-days-per-week minimum in the workplace, imposed last September. There's been some evidence since that the policy is not being strictly enforced. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Crawley

Senior reporter

Mike Crawley has covered Ontario politics for CBC News since 2009. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in B.C., spent six years as a freelance journalist in various parts of Africa, then joined the CBC in 2005. Mike was born and raised in Saint John, N.B.

With files from Sarah Petz

Yeah how dare those flight attendants demand to be paid for their work and treated like people.

Text of the article at the time of posting:

Air Canada to begin cancelling flights ahead of possible work stoppage on Saturday

By The Canadian Press

Updated: August 13, 2025 at 12:55PM EDT

Published: August 13, 2025 at 6:14AM EDT

Travellers say they are bracing for uncertainty as Air Canada prepares to gradually suspend flights ahead of a potential work stoppage on Saturday.

The airline said the first flights will be cancelled Thursday, with more on Friday and a complete cessation of flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge by the weekend if it doesn’t reach a last-minute deal with the flight attendants’ union.

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, issued a 72-hour notice of its intent to strike just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday. Half an hour later, Air Canada issued a notice that it also plans to lock out the flight attendants.

That means a work stoppage would officially take effect Saturday around 1 a.m. ET if the two sides don’t reach an eleventh hour deal.

Passengers on the move Wednesday said they were worried about potential disruptions to the return portion of their itineraries if the two sides don’t resolve their contract dispute in the meantime.

“I’m glad we’re getting out today ... We’re due back in two weeks so we’ll have to see what happens,” said Candace Tidy, who was travelling from Toronto to Halifax for vacation.

“I’m hoping that if it’s still on strike they’ll offer us some alternate ways to get home.”

Air Canada said customers whose flights are cancelled will be notified and they will be eligible for a full refund.

The company also said it has made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers alternative travel options “to the extent possible.” That includes passengers whose itineraries change mid-journey.

Air Canada added it is also implementing a flexible rebooking policy for all customers so they can change or defer travel at no additional cost.

“If they can’t offer us an alternative, we’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do, but hopefully they can help us get home,” said Tidy.

Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz and PAL Airlines will continue to operate as normal, as flight attendants working under those banners are not part of the negotiations at hand.

Bargaining update

On Tuesday, Air Canada said it had reached an impasse with the union.

“We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve,” said Air Canada president and CEO Michael Rousseau in a statement.

He said the union’s intent to launch a strike “puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada’s and Air Canada Rouge’s operations through a lockout.”

“As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse,” Rousseau said.

The union has said its main sticking points revolve around what it calls flight attendants’ “poverty wages” and unpaid labour when planes aren’t in the air.

Its members voted 99.7 per cent in favour of a strike mandate last week. Talks later resumed, with both sides expressing optimism they could reach a deal in time to avoid a work stoppage.

But on Tuesday, Air Canada said the two sides were “far apart” on key issues and the union told its members that the company “decided they no longer want to negotiate.”

“Despite our best efforts, Air Canada refused to address our core issues,” the union said in a bargaining update post online.

Alternatives to work stoppage

The union rejected a proposal from the airline to enter a binding arbitration process, saying it prefers to negotiate a deal that its members can then vote on. It has said that unlike with a tentative agreement reached through negotiations, members would not get a chance to vote on an arbitrator’s decision, which would be final.

The union also said arbitrators “rely on precedent and the status quo to make their determinations,” which runs counter to its objectives in bargaining talks.

Air Canada has said it is looking into its remaining options, including a request for government-directed arbitration “to prevent a disruption or at least remove this intolerable uncertainty for our customers.”

Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement she has been meeting with Air Canada and its flight attendants throughout the negotiations, including on Tuesday.

“I am closely monitoring the situation and encourage both parties to stay at the table until a deal is found,” she said.

“Federal mediators will remain available until a deal is reached. The best agreements are the ones the parties reach themselves. Canadians expect them to reach a deal one way or another.”

Compensation options

The airline has cautioned that under Canada’s Airline Passenger Protection Regulations, customers are not eligible for compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, meals, hotels for situations outside the carrier’s control, such as a strike or lockout.

However, Air Canada is responsible for its decision to “pre-emptively” cancel flights in anticipation of a strike or lockout that has not yet started, said Air Passenger Rights advocacy group president Gabor Lukacs in an online post.

He called that a “business decision over which Air Canada has full control, and it is not required for safety reasons.”

He said passengers whose flight have been cancelled Thursday or Friday before the work stoppage is in effect must be provided a choice between two options.

The first option is being rebooked, free of charge, on the next available flight operated by any carrier including Air Canada’s competitors, along with meals, overnight accommodation and cash compensation depending on the length of delay experienced.

Alternatively, Lukacs said the airline must offer such passengers a refund within 30 days, plus compensation of up to $400 per passenger for their inconvenience.

“Do not agree to Option 2 if what you really want is to continue travelling, because Option 2 allows the airline to wash its hands of further responsibility for your travel,” he said.

“It often costs more to book a flight the closer it gets to the travel date. Accepting a refund and rebooking on your own will often make you out of pocket.”

---

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

With files from Maan Alhmidi in Mississauga, Ont.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.

Aren't you supposed to be cheating the MP by election system PP?

Text of the article at the time of posting:

Poilievre says of B.C. Premier Eby that 'one man can't block' pipeline proposal

The Canadian Press - Aug 7, 2025 / 11:25 am | Story: 565465

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canadians, including British Columbians, want a new oil pipeline and Premier David Eby can't be allowed as one man to block the project.

Poilievre says the country can't wait for complete agreement on the idea, calling it a "basic fact" that a new pipeline is needed.

Eby has repeatedly said there's no point discussing or supporting a pipeline that is being pushed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and others, until there is a proponent for such a project.

Poilievre, speaking in Calgary, says that's a "chicken and egg problem," because the reason there's no proponent is there has been inadequate government support.

Eby could not immediately be reached for comment on Poilievre's remarks.

Poilievre said he had nothing against Eby but "one man can't block a project."

"British Columbians want a pipeline, Albertans want a pipeline, Canadians want a pipeline. We can't wait till everybody's onside," he said.

"There are some people out there who don't think Elvis is dead. We can't get everybody to agree on any basic fact, even the basic fact that we need a pipeline. So, you're going to need national leadership," he said.

Poilievre was speaking at a news conference to announce that the Opposition Conservatives will introduce a bill in Parliament called the Canadian Sovereignty Act, which would repeal "Liberal growth-blocking laws."

Text of the article:

Ford floats use of notwithstanding clause in Toronto bike lanes case

‘Let’s see what happens at the Court of Appeal,’ Premier Doug Ford told reporters

Aidan Chamandy

Aug 6, 2025 1:41 PM

Premier Doug Ford is gearing up for a fight after a judge pumped the brakes on his government’s plan to remove some Toronto bike lanes. 

On Wednesday, Ford left open the possibility of invoking the notwithstanding clause to ensure his government retains the authority to remove bike lanes it disapproves of. 

“Let's see what happens at the Court of Appeal, and then we'll go from there,” he said at an unrelated announcement in Thornhill. 

Ford criticized Justice Paul Schabas’ decision as the “most ridiculous” he’s ever seen. 

“You talk about the Charter? It’s trampling on the democratic rights of Ontarians that elected a government, just a few months before … that said they’re going to move, not eliminate … bike lanes from the main arterial roads,” Ford said. 

Ford, however, struck a confident tone and said he has confidence the Court of Appeal will rule in his government’s favour. 

Using the notwithstanding clause would allow the government to push through the removals, regardless of what the three-judge panel at the Court of Appeals says. 

In his July 30 ruling, Justice Schabas wrote “the evidence is clear” that “restoring a lane of motor vehicle traffic … will create greater risk to cyclists and to other users of the road.” 

Schabas’ decision didn’t hinge on whether he thought citizens had a right to bike lanes. Instead, it revolved around whether the government’s arguments for removing the lanes — and causing harm to non-driving road users — was based in fact. 

The government’s central point was that removing the bike lanes on Yonge Street, University Avenue and Bloor Street would reduce congestion. That, according to Schabas, was predicated on “weak anecdotal evidence and expert opinion,” which was “unsupported, unpersuasive and contrary to the consensus view of experts.”

He wrote that “there is no evidence that the government based its decision on data, manuals or expert ‘highway engineering’, or that its decision would ‘contribute to highway safety.’”

“Rather, the evidence is to the contrary,” he wrote.

Ford is no stranger to using — or threatening to use — the notwithstanding clause, a constitutional provision that was previously taboo in Ontario politics. 

He was the first premier in the province’s history to invoke the clause, which has been in place since 1982. 

In 2018, he threatened to invoke the clause to reduce the number of Toronto city council members from 47 to 25. Doing so was ultimately unnecessary because the Court of Appeal upheld Queen’s Park’s authority to make the council change.

In 2021, the Superior Court struck down Ford’s attempt to [extend third-party election spending limits](https://www.barrietoday.com/local-news/supreme-court-strikes-down-ford-governments-third-party-political-ads-law-10339531: outbound&utm_medium=referral) to 12 months, up from six months. Ford recalled the legislature and passed the bill with the notwithstanding clause — marking the first time in provincial history the clause was actually used. 

Then, in 2022, Ford [used the clause](https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-28: outbound&utm_medium=referral) to ban education workers from striking after contract negotiations broke down. That sparked intense public backlash and Ford repealed the bill days later.

—

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said Ford in 2022 used the notwithstanding clause to ban teachers from striking. It was in fact used to stop education workers, like librarians, custodians and early childhood educators, from striking.

https://archive.ph/YtR5o

https://archive.ph/YtR5o

The Alberta government paid more than $30 million on behalf of delinquent oil and gas companies in 2024, The Narwhal has learned. The companies failed to pay rent owed to landowners for the use of their property for oil and gas activities.

This represents a 4,500 per cent increase in the amount of money the government is paying for these missed payments since 2010.

Companies are required to pay rents to landowners for oil and gas activity, whether to drill a well or install another related facility. When they don’t pay, landowners can apply to a tribunal to have those rents paid for by the province.

The payout is supposed to be a stopgap to make sure landowners aren’t out of pocket, with the government going after delinquent oil and gas companies to get them to repay the money.

In reality, that rarely happens.

Data obtained via a freedom of information request shows just $167,000 — less than half a per cent of the total paid out in 2024 — was recovered from oil and gas companies.

Full Article

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