November 2024

Canada Post and its workers’ union remain at odds in their collective bargaining as a potential strike loomsthreatening to disrupt postal service for millions of Canadians. Canada Post told Global News in an emailed statement Monday evening that weekend discussions with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) were “unfortunately less productive” than the Crown corporation hoped. The union has been in a legal strike position since Sunday after a cooling-off period in contract negotiations ended the day before, but has not yet issued strike notice. “At this time, neither party has given notice (minimum 72 hours) of its intention to initiate a labor dispute,” said Lisa Liu, spokesperson for Canada Post. While the two sides are still negotiating, the union said Monday that “if there is no real movement at the bargaining table, we will not hesitate to take the next step.” Story continues below advertisement The threat of strike action ahead of the busy holiday season has already had a “serious effect” on business as customers look for alternative delivery options, putting further financial pressure on the company , said Canada Post. “Retailers need certainty for their shipments at this critical time of year and are shifting their packages to other delivery companies,” Liu said. “Customers have also canceled direct marketing campaigns to avoid their shipments getting stuck in the postal network in the event of a strike. Our overall volumes are down significantly and continue to erode. 4:20 p.m. CUPW talks about possible pressure measures from Canada Post workers What are the main sticking points? For almost a year, CUPW has been negotiating new collective agreements for the urban operations unit and the rural and suburban letter carriers unit (RSMC). Story continues below advertisement The two sides have been negotiating since November last year. In September, Canada Post presented its proposal and the union presented its counteroffers last month. Receive national news daily Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day. Last week, Canada Post presented its latest offers to CUPW, including higher annual wage increases of 11.5 percent over four years and protections for workers’ pensions. The new proposal also included improved leave rights and job security provisions. In an initial review of the proposal, the union said the offers “were insufficient.” As it stands, the two sides disagree on two key issues: weekend delivery and a short-term disability plan, among other sticking points. Canada Post says it is negotiating a “more flexible delivery model” that would allow affordable parcel delivery seven days a week. The union is not convinced this plan will protect workers’ regular full-time weekday routes. 2:11 Canada Post lost nearly $750 million last year, future now uncertain When it comes to short-term disability, CUPW demands to include 10 days for medical reasons and seven days for personal reasons in collective agreements, but Canada Post refuses to deviate from 13 days for personal reasons, the union said . Story continues below advertisement Pensions and access to essential benefits are other obstacles to reaching a deal. In a statement to Global News on Tuesday, CUPW spokesperson Siân Griffiths said Canada Post is “pushing to weaken our pensions, not only for current members but also for future generations. They also want to make it more difficult for postal workers, who put their health at risk on a daily basis, to access essential services.” What could pressure tactics look like? Current trend Many Canadians end up in emergency rooms before being diagnosed with cancer, study finds ‘I’m pissed’: Alberta premier, oil and gas industry criticize Ottawa’s new emissions cap Although neither party has issued a notice of work interruption, a possible means of pressure could impact Canadians across the country. On several occasions, Canada Post has organized rotating strikes in order to have minimal impact on customers, CUPW National President Jan Simpson told Global News last Thursday. There is also the possibility of an all-out strike, she said, as well as a lockout of Canada Post workers and a complete shutdown of the company. Story continues below advertisement The federal government has urged both parties to reach a collective agreement and is working to facilitate this outcome. Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon met with Canada Post and CUPW on Thursday. He told reporters on Wednesday: “We are obviously trying to facilitate a collective agreement and we want both sides to come to an agreement and to have this agreement ratified.” » MacKinnon did not say whether the federal government would intervene. 2h10 Business matters: Canada Post president says company is at critical juncture If a strike continues, it is unclear whether the minority Liberal government will be able to legislate to end the work stoppage. The New Democratic Party, for its part, will not support it. “There is no scenario in which we will support back-to-work legislation.“, Matthew Green, the NDP labor critic, said Friday in an interview with Global News. Story continues below advertisement “It is incumbent on the Minister of Labor not to use the threat of legislating Canada Post’s return to work to essentially free management from negotiating a fair deal with these workers. » He added that all options must be explored and the “best deals” must be reached at the negotiating table. The labor dispute comes as Canada Post struggling to stay afloat despite financial losses. Canada Post says it recorded $490 million in operating losses in the first half of the year and since 2018 it has lost more than $3 billion. “We remain hopeful that further discussions will lead to a breakthrough, but urgency is now required,” Liu said. “Our deteriorating financial situation could force the company to review its proposals. “ — with files from The Canadian Press Learn more about Canada More videos &copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link

A presidential campaign that featured a felony trial, an outcast president and multiple assassination attempts boils down to a final push in a handful of states on the eve of Election day. Kamala Harris will spend all day Monday in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes offer the biggest prize among the states expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. The vice president and Democratic candidate will tour working-class neighborhoods, including Allentown, and end with a nighttime rally in Philadelphia featuring Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey. Donald Trump plans four rallies in three states, starting in Raleigh, North Carolina and stopping twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh. The Republican candidate and former president is ending his campaign the same way he ended the first two, with an event late Monday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan. About 77 million Americans have already voted early, but Harris and Trump are working to secure millions more supporters Tuesday. Whatever the result on Election Day, it will be a historic result. Story continues below advertisement 2:20 p.m. US Election 2024: What Causes the Widening Gender Gap Between Harris and Trump Supporters A Trump victory would make him the first incoming president to be charged and convicted of a crime, following his secret trial in New York. He will gain the power to end other ongoing federal investigations against him. Trump would also become the second president in history to win non-consecutive terms in the White House, following Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century. Harris aims to become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office, four years after breaking the same barriers to national office by becoming President Joe Biden’s second-in-command. Receive national news daily Get the day’s top news, politics, business and current affairs headlines delivered to your inbox once a day. The vice president rose to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden’s disastrous performance in a June debate triggered his withdrawal from the race. It’s just one of many convulsions that have hit this year’s campaign. Story continues below advertisement Trump survived a would-be assassin’s bullet by millimeters at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. His Secret Service foiled a second attempt in September when a gunman planted a rifle while Trump played golf at one of his courses in Florida. Harris, 60, downplayed the historic nature of her candidacy, which only materialized after the 81-year-old president ended his re-election bid after his June debate against Trump, 78, sharpened questions about Biden’s age. Instead, Harris presented herself as a generational change, emphasized her support for abortion rights after the 2022 Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion services, and regularly emphasized the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Assembling a coalition ranging from progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, Harris has called Trump a threat to democracy and even, late in the campaign, embraced criticism that Trump is accurately described as a “fascist.” .” 6:55 a.m. ‘Worrying’ concerns at US-Canada border with second Trump term As Monday approached, Harris all but stopped mentioning Trump. She promises to solve problems and seek consensus, while striking an almost exclusively optimistic tone that recalls the opening days of her campaign, when she embraced “the politics of joy” and the campaign theme “Freedom “. Current trend “We are afraid”: Generation Z could hold the keys to the White House, and the parties know it A protest breaks out outside a Hindu temple in Brampton, Ontario. Story continues below advertisement “From the beginning, our campaign was not about being against something, it was about being for something,” Harris said Sunday evening at Michigan State University. Trump, renewing his slogans of “Make America Great Again” and “America First,” has made his hardline approach to immigration and his harsh criticism of Harris and Biden the anchors of his argument for of a second administration. He criticized Democrats for an inflationary economy and pledged to lead an economic “golden age,” ending international conflicts and sealing the U.S. southern border. But Trump has also often veered into grievances about being sued after trying to overturn Biden’s victory and has repeatedly denigrated the country he wants to lead again as a “failed nation.” As recently as Sunday, he renewed his false claims that the US election was rigged against him, spoke of violence against journalists and said he “should not have left” the White House in 2021 – dark turns that overshadowed another anchor of his closing argument. : “Kamala broke it. I’ll fix it. 2:28 US election 2024: the elections that will determine control of Congress The election is expected to take place in seven states. Trump won Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016, only to see them turn to Biden in 2020. North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada add the Sun Belt portion of the field map presidential battle. Story continues below advertisement Trump won North Carolina twice and lost Nevada twice. He won Arizona and Georgia in 2016, but saw them flip to Democrats in 2020. Harris’ team has projected confidence in recent days, pointing to a significant gender gap in early voting data and research showing that voters who decided late have moved on. They also believe in the strength of their campaign infrastructure. This weekend, the Harris campaign rallied more than 90,000 volunteers to help get out the vote — and knocked on more than 3 million doors in battleground states. Yet Harris’ aides insisted she remained the underdog. Trump’s team has also projected confidence, arguing that the former president’s populist appeal will attract younger and working-class voters across racial and ethnic divides. The idea is that Trump can build an atypical Republican coalition, even as other traditional blocs in the Republican Party — notably college-educated voters — become more Democratic. AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report. Learn more about the…

Canada has many reasons to be concerned as the US presidential election is coming to an end, but a former diplomat between the two countries says he is particularly concerned about the “chaos” after the vote – including the “pretty high” potential for violence. David MacNaughton, who served as Canada’s ambassador to the United States from 2016 to 2019, says he is confident Canada can manage the future. Donald Trump Or Kamala Harris administration despite the challenges each would pose. But with polls show extremely close raceMacNaughton says he hopes the outcome will be clear enough to avoid a contested outcome like the 2000 U.S. election, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. “You can imagine the turmoil that was going to happen,” he told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview broadcast Sunday on The West Block. Story continues below advertisement “So I hope that one way or another it’s clear.” I think we can handle either outcome, but chaos wouldn’t be good for anyone. » MacNaughton said that regardless of who wins, he believes the likelihood of political violence following the outcome… which could take days to determine – is “quite high”. 2:41 US election officials prepare to curb potential chaos The January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters protesting his election defeat “really shocked” him and stood in stark contrast to the period before Trump’s inauguration in 2016, he said. declared. Get the latest national news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen. “The atmosphere is so divided and so intense on both sides that I really worry about the possibility of violence,” he said. “It wouldn’t necessarily be in Washington. It could be elsewhere in the country. Story continues below advertisement An investigation by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Monday shows that Americans are also concerned about what might happen after Election Day, particularly if the winner is not immediately clear. About four in 10 registered voters said they were “extremely” or “very” concerned about violent attempts to overturn the results after the November election. A similar proportion is concerned about legal efforts to achieve this. And about a third of voters said they were “extremely” or “very” concerned about attempts by local or state election officials to prevent results from being finalized. Any post-election unrest in the United States would create “real problems” for Canada, MacNaughton said, particularly on cross-border trade And national security. However, if Trump wins and follows through on his promise of mass deportation of at least 10 million immigrants across the United States, Canada could potentially face a wave of fearful migrants. “We have a very, very long, undefended border, and so that’s concerning,” MacNaughton said. Current trend Canada’s youngest dangerous offender seeks escorted release from prison Iran’s Supreme Leader threatens Israel, US with ‘crushing response’ to Israeli attack 7:03 a.m. ‘Deeply concerned’ for Canada if Trump returns to power: former US ambassador The ambassador said the main difference between a Trump or Harris presidency will be how quickly Canada will have to be prepared to negotiate things like the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Both candidates have said they want to reopen the trade deal when it is revised in 2026. Story continues below advertisement While Canada may have more time to engage with a Harris administration “on a more traditional basis” before that review, MacNaughton said, the tone will immediately be more confrontational and “transactional” under Trump. “I think with Trump we should be ready to discuss how we are going to be good partners and help preserve peace, security and prosperity,” he said. Commitments to combat shared interests like defense and fentanyl smuggling could even help Canada avoid the blanket tariffs on all foreign imports into the United States that Trump has promised to impose. “I realize that everyone is worried: is he going to impose tariffs, is he going to do this, is he going to do that,” he said. “But we have a lot of strengths that we can come to the table with. We just have to be willing to do it and not always just want to talk about trade.” MacNaughton said Canada’s decision to follow the United States in imposing high tariffs on electric vehicles and their Chinese components “pleased” Democrats and Republicans in Washington, and showed Canada is willing to work in collaboration with the United States on common priorities. Learn more about politics More videos &copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link

Stephen Winters says watching the U.S. election campaign from Canada as a dual citizen is like a parent watching their child play sports. “When you’re on the sidelines, it makes you more nervous than when you’re on the sidelines,” Winters said in an interview from Calgary. “My friends and family at home tell me, ‘Don’t worry too much,’ because they are there and they know everything is okay. When you’re out there, the situation may seem worse than it is. Winters, of Minnesota, teaches linguistics at the University of Calgary. He is one of approximately 600,000 eligible voters in Canada able to vote in Tuesday’s election. Winters said he voted by mail but took a step back from reading political news because of his feeling of helplessness afterward. Story continues below advertisement “I voted for Kamala Harris and the Democratic representative in Congress,” he said. “I don’t think she’s the best candidate, but she’s definitely the best option.” He says he chose not to vote for former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump because of his foreign policy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Get the latest national news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up to receive breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen. “My wife is Ukrainian and Trump’s relationship with (Russian President) Putin, whatever it is, is really a problem. Learn more about politics More videos “We have friends and family in Ukraine who are in danger because of this war and I don’t think Trump supports the Ukrainian cause.” Georganne Burke, a dual citizen, said she also submitted her absentee ballot from Toronto. A political consultant who moved to Canada from New York state in 1987, Burke says she voted for Trump because he would help the economy and she agrees with his foreign policy. “I was a die-hard Democrat, I worked very hard for the Democratic Party when I lived in the United States. The party left me. I didn’t leave the party,” said Burke, who also heads the Canadian chapter of Republicans Overseas. She rejects opposition accusations that another Trump presidency would not respect the checks and balances of democracy. Story continues below advertisement “Donald Trump is not a threat to society. Donald Trump is not Hitler. He is not a dangerous man. He has America’s best interests at heart. Current trend Canada’s youngest dangerous offender seeks escorted release from prison ‘Very troubling’: Customers say Ontario rideshare drivers are charging inappropriately Burke said it has been difficult to follow the U.S. election from Canada, mainly because she cannot help recruit voters for Trump’s campaign in the United States, as she has done in the past working as a consultant south of the border. “It’s hard to watch it from here (for) someone like me who is a total political junkie. I would love to go there and get my hands dirty and do stuff, but I can’t. The best she can do, she says, is to make sure her relatives and friends in America and Canada mark their ballots. “We have to be sure that the United States…that its economy is healthy, that there is security there, because if things go wrong for them, it’s a hop, skip and a jump. a leap for us, both economically and physically,” she said. . Jacob Wesoky, executive vice president of Democrats Abroad and a 20-year-old American student at McGill University in Montreal, said every vote counts. “Canadian voters could decide this election,” Wesoky said. “I voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, then for the Democrats. Story continues below advertisement “Everyone here is extremely invested in this election. Everyone is watching him closely. “A lot of people are very nervous.” &copy 2024 The Canadian Press Source link