Impasse at strikebound B.C. ports not broken by Saturday's round of negotiations
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Jul, 2023 09:34 AM
Hundreds of supporters showed up to a rally in Vancouver backing striking B-C port workers.
Speakers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand offered support for the thousands of workers who have been off the job since Canada Day.
The workers continue to push for improved wages as the cost of living climbs, as well as protection from what they see as an overuse of contractors for maintenance work.
Vice president Pat Bolen told the crowd issues around maintenance work are the union's "line in the sand."
It's a record that will likely be beaten more than once in the coming years, as a Canadian federal immigration plan released earlier this month aims to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023 and 500,000 a year by 2025, with a particular focus on bringing in people with needed skills and experience.
British Columbia was the first to sign on, inking a $3.2-billion deal in July 2021 with plans to create 30,000 new child-care spaces within five years and 40,000 within seven years. B.C. started a $10-a-day program at select facilities in 2018 and plans to double those spaces to 12,500 this month.
It boosts annual salaries for new teachers as much as $8,500 by the end of the third year while B.C.'s highest-paid educators will earn up to $13,500 more over the same period, which Johnston says pushes them above the $100,000-per-year threshold for the first time.
Arctic outflow warnings have been posted for B.C.’s central and northern coasts, with the wind chill predicted at minus 20. Special weather statements are also up for most of Vancouver Island and the south coast, with icy conditions and wind chills near minus 10.
The coroner says the October statistics show that illicit drugs caused the deaths of 1,827 people in B.C. in the first 10 months of this year. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the increased toxicity and variability of street drugs has created an environment where everyone who uses substances is at risk.
Several crashes blocked the Alex Fraser Bridge, one of the main arteries over the Fraser River. The route was closed for hours in both directions over safety concerns, the government said.
