Tuesday, September 8, the most left wing government in power in Canada ordered 350 striking workers off of the picket line and back to the lab. These workers were striking against unfair wages and standing off against an American megacorporation, Labcorp– a dystopian name if I ever heard one.
Wab Kinew then said that Dynacare sucks, and said he’s considering nationalizing their work. He was immediately criticized for his actions and his words being completely misaligned.
This development shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention for the past few years. The NDP who win in Canada straddle the centre of the political spectrum, in a style known as “professionalizing” the party. Wab Kinew is a very popular orange Liberal.
"The government of Manitoba backed a private, American-owned company that is exploiting front-line health-care professionals, instead of supporting those severely underpaid workers," Union President, Jason Linklater said in a statement.
He said this was "a profound erosion of trust" in Manitoba's NDP government, and then he said the union will follow the order.
The labour movement in Canada is under attack, struggling to survive. Reports have come out that Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to curb the right to strike, and labour unions have warned of unprecedented action against labour by the federal Liberals. Ironically, on labour day Carney put out a message praising labourers as having built the country, and crediting them with much of Canada’s strength. “For generations, unions have made our economy stronger and our country fairer. They have fought for better pay, safer workplaces, pensions, benefits, and paid leave – ensuring that prosperity and opportunity are shared among the many,” the statement reads.
One week after labour day, Carney is holding a summit in Toronto, inviting the richest and most powerful billionaires to Canada to invest their private capital into Canada, and take possession of Canada’s land and infrastructure.
This will likely produce short term benefits and jobs– infrastructure projects sold to private capital will likely cause a flurry of hiring over the next few years but at the cost of long term stability. Neo-Liberalism chips away at freedoms and rights by selling it to the highest bidder, but people don’t fight it because it’s a short term response to problems that people are facing right now.
The liberals removed the title of minister of labour, and replaced it with “Minister of Jobs.” During the Liberal National Convention in April, Minister of Jobs, Patty Hajdu shouted out to a large crowd “Are there any members of unions in the audience!?”
One person replied. The rest of the room remained silent. The moment is so embarrassing that I’m fairly certain the Liberals have tried to get it removed from the internet. I found it here, but it has since been removed by the user. If you find it, please email it to me, I’d like to hold on to it for historical evidence.