Friday, March 25, 2011

Time to Act on Accessibility Rights Legislation


Approximately 40% of complaints to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission relate to the rights of Manitobans with disabilities. That's a clear sign that the 170,000 Manitobans with disabilities are facing far too many barriers to full participation in our communities.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour supports the campaign by Barrier Free Manitoba for accessibility rights legislation in Manitoba. Modeled on the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2005, such legislation would:
1) Establish a deadline for Manitoba to become barrier free for Manitobans with disabilities. Ontario’s law provided 20 years to achieve full accessibility.
2) Identify areas in which accessibility standards must be implemented. These would include customer service, transportation, the built environment, information and communications, and employment.
3) Establish a process by which recommended accessibility standards would be developed. That process would be led by cross-sector committees, involving all stakeholders, including members who are persons with disabilities or their representatives.
4) Make government responsible for determining which standards are implemented to achieve full accessibility.
5) Establish a pro-active  enforcement mechanism that includes regular reporting on compliance. This is in contrast with the current complain-driven system.

The time to act is NOW. Barrier Free Manitoba has organized a postcard campaign urging the Premier to introduce accessibility rights legislation in the upcoming spring session of the Manitoba legislature. Please support this campaign by sending in your message of support HERE.

For more information about Barrier Free Manitoba and accessibility rights legislation, click HERE.

To read the Province's discussion paper on accessibility rights legislation, click HERE.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Asset Building to Fight Poverty - Spread the word!

On Wednesday I Co-chaired the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council’s Asset Building Committee.
The goal of our committee is to increase the availability of asset building programs for families on low or limited income.
I can best illustrate what an asset building program is by giving some examples.
Asset Building Programs
One of the reasons people on low incomes face difficulties trying to get ahead financially is that they lack assets which can be leveraged to improve their finances.  Paying for skills training, having a computer, or improving your home's energy efficiency to reduce your utility bills are all examples of investments that can help low income families get ahead, but that require an up front investment that low income families often cannot affford. Asset Building Programs were developed to address this problem.

"Get $500 of Free Money for your Child’s Education"
The Canada Learning Bond is probably the best known asset-building program. It makes it easier for low income families to save for their children's education by providing significant matching dollars to money invested in an RESP. You can learn more here.  

SEED Winnipeg is offering a workshop to help families learn how to access the Canada Learning Bond. 


Asset Building Programs in Winnipeg

SEED Winnipeg's Asset Building Programs assist low-income participants to save for productive assets or household necessities.  Learn more about SEED Winnipeg's asset building programs here. 

The Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council is working with Red River Community College to develop a program for future students and is working with the Assiniboine Credit Union to create a program that would be available for their staff. Once these new pilot projects are launched we hope other Winnipeg Businesses will explore setting up similar programs for their employees.

Identifying Barriers and addressing them.
The Committee also spends time looking at the challenges that low income people may face and explores ways to overcome them.
Something as simple as obtaining identification can be a real challenge if you don’t have the money to get your birth certificate or social insurance number. The committee has worked with Government and SEED Winnipeg to streamline and financially support people to make this easier.
There is a lot more to be done.
There are many initiatives being taken to try and address poverty. The biggest challenge is making people aware of what is available and how they can access support. I commend the many organizations that work hard every day lending assistance to those who could use it.
I hope you all make some time to talk about some of the supports and organizations out there to help spread the word.


Monday, March 07, 2011

Scapegoating Public Sector Workers - Food for Thought

There has been a spike in recent Canadian commentary attacking public sector unions. See for example last Thursday's Winnipeg Sun, Dan Lett's February 18 opinion piece, or Margaret Wente's rant last week in the Globe and Mail.

These articles take it for granted that there is political advantage to be gained by any politician who chooses to fan the flames of resentment against public sector workers and their unions.

As I noted in my response to Dan Lett's column, Canadian public attitudes towards unions remain very positive. The pollster we work with, Viewpoints Research, regularly surveys western Canadians on their views towards unions and consistently finds 85% agreement with the statement that “employees should have the right to choose to join a union without any interference from the employer.” It finds that 2/3 of the general population agrees that “overall, unions are beneficial for working people.” In 2010, a major national poll, found that 60% of Canadians approve of labour unions while 67% of non-union members agreed that despite inconvenience, strikes are part of democracy. It is not clear at all how Lett can credibly assert that, “unions, public sector ones in particular, have become vilified institutions,” or that unions are “less and less popular.” 


But the biggest fly in the ointment for those who think public sector unions are an easy mark for politicians is the reaction to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's attempt to remove the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers. To put it mildly, Walker's bold attempt to blame public sector workers for his state's problems has backfired. Right across America, not just in Wisconsin, the public has taken the workers' side in the Wisconsin dispute. The polls show it. Ongoing rallies against Walker's union-busting bill have been massive, including 12,000 people this past weekend in a rally that spanned 20 Madison city blocks:
Even Forbes magazine, a bastion of conservative thought, admits the union-busters are losing.

The point isn't that workers and their unions are scoring a moral victory. The point is that picking on public sector workers is hurting the Republicans politically. Check out this morning's polls, which show a clear turn away from the union-busters. Public sector workers, the so-called easy targets, appear to be turning the political tide in the US, a tide that had been ebbing strongly to the right for more than a year.

If Mayor Katz or other Canadian politicians are considering the pundits' advice to scapegoat public sector workers and their unions, they might want to have a closer look at what's really going on in Wisconsin.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Solidarity, Canadian Style!


Solidarity in Wisconsin:



Solidarity in Canada:


What the heck is Brother Rebeck talking about? That's surely what you're asking yourself.

At the Manitoba Federation of Labour Executive Council meeting this week, the MGEU advised us that their sister union in New Brunswick represents the Moosehead Brewery workers who are locked out. The company has a limited stock of Moosehead beer in inventory. So, the union wants to create an environment where the workers are needed back at work now. Our solution: let's ensure those workers are needed back at work by drinking up all available Moosehead beer!

In Wisconsin, the labour movement is under attack in an unprecedented way. The Governor is proposing to strip away the collective bargaining rights of public sector workers. Workers across America have been angered, joining Wisconsin workers in protest. In poll after poll, Americans are saying they're on the side of workers' rights, by a two to one margin. I'm proud of the collective actions being taken by Wisconsin workers and citizens, and send them a message of solidarity.

In Winnipeg, I plan on doing my part for the New Brunswick workers too.... Cheers!