Issue 40 – 25, March 2, 2025
CCPA challenges benefits of eliminating Inter-provincial trade barriers.
Calls for the removal of interprovincial trade barriers may not be as good a solution as promised, according to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
Marc Lee, senior economist at CCPA, notes that politicians and media figures have claimed that Canada’s GDP could grow by up to $240 billion by eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, “such incredibly large numbers simply don’t make sense based on what we know about interprovincial trade”.
Lee notes that instead of focusing on international trades barriers, “it is the big macroeconomic forces in the economy, such as interest rates or government spending or international trade that policy makers need to focus on.”
The Committee on Internal Trade (CIT) meeting, federal and provincial and territorial counterparts are discussing ways to improve trade within Canada.
Read more - Those big GDP numbers about interprovincial trade barriers are wrong - CCPA
International Women’s Day
On March 8, 2025, the Canadian Labour Congress will mark International Women’s Day by drawing attention to the gendered impacts of the affordability crisis in the lead up to the upcoming federal election
From coast to coast, women are Rising Up against the inequalities and inequities of a broken economy and failing public infrastructure that's keeping too many in poverty and precarious, low-wage employment. We know that the affordability crisis is impacting women the hardest—especially Indigenous, Black, racialized, newcomer, young, 2SLGBTQI+ women and women with disabilities.
With a federal election on the horizon, now is the time to Rise Up and demand that every political party seeking workers’ votes meaningfully address the barriers that women and gender-diverse people experience at work and in society.
Siobhán Vipond, CLC Executive Vice-President stated, “Canada’s next government needs workers to win. Let’s Rise Up, and together, we can elect a pro-worker government and build a fairer, more just society for us all.”
Read more - Get a Better Deal - Workers Together
CURC 15th Constitutional Convention
The Fifteenth Convention of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada will take place at the Pan Pacific Toronto, 900 York Mills Rd, Toronto, the convention will be June 17th, to June 19, 2025.
Resolutions MUST be received at the CURC office by April 1st, 2025, to be accepted.
Resolutions may to be sent by mail to CURC office 2841 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 8X7, however, we encourage you to email the resolutions to curc@clcctc.ca with the subject line clearly marked CURC Resolution.
For more information about the convention please email curc@clcctc.ca .