On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), reaffirms our commitment to stand alongside unions, equity-seeking organizations, community members, and activists in the fight for justice for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.
We endorse the White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender-diverse People by NDP MP Randall Garrison, which outlines critical issues and actionable recommendations for a more inclusive and safer Ontario. These recommendations include ensuring access to gender-affirming healthcare, combating hate, simplifying identity documents, supporting refugees, enforcing employment equity, and decriminalizing sex work and HIV.
We are witnessing an alarming increase in hate toward the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, including targeted attacks on school equity initiatives and setbacks like the defeat of Bill 42, which aimed to improve access to gender-affirming healthcare. These setbacks emphasize the urgency of strengthening our advocacy efforts. Trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse individuals deserve comprehensive, respectful care for their well-being. Gender-affirming care is not just essential; it is lifesaving.
Today, we also recognize the specific challenges faced by bisexual individuals, including heightened mental health issues, violence, and discrimination. Addressing these challenges requires improved mental health services, stronger anti-discrimination measures, and better representation.
“As long as members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community face threats, intimidation, and violence, the labour movement will continue to mobilize in their defense,” stated OFL President Laura Walton. “We will continue to mobilize, educate, and advocate until every individual feels safe and valued in their schools, workplaces, and communities across Ontario.”
We urge immediate action on the recommendations outlined in The White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender-diverse People. You can refer here to the full document. We call upon every member to actively participate in eradicating homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia through supporting legislative changes, engaging in educational initiatives, or joining in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community during public demonstrations. Every action helps build a more inclusive Ontario.
Welcome to the injured workers campaign toolkit.
This toolkit equips you with the resources needed to urge our provincial government to provide minimum rights that will ensure just, fair, and non-discriminatory treatment for injured workers.
With this toolkit, you can take the following steps:
The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) solemnly commemorates those who have been lost to workplace injury, illness and disease, joining in the shared grief of their families, co-workers and all those impacted by a workplace fatality. Today, the OFL renews its commitment to a future free from work-related fatalities, advocating for the safety of every worker and the enforcement of health and safety laws, in every workplace.
On the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Westray Law, which imposes criminal liability on corporations for workplace injuries and fatalities, we still must continue to remind Police Chiefs in Ontario of their duty to investigate every workplace death, with a Westray lens.
2023 was a deadly year for Ontario workers, with 269 workplace deaths recorded, a figure that does not include unreported incidents or those who died after receiving permanent disability pensions from WSIB. It is clear that more must be done to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of the workers of our province.
Today, the OFL, in partnership with the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), has introduced an Injured Worker Bill of Rights to outline the minimum rights that the provincial government must guarantee to ensure just, fair, and non-discriminatory treatment for injured workers. The OFL will be organizing and lobbying to improve the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Our first step is to change the law so that it recognizes the hazards of Heat Stress in workplaces across the province.
In this moment of shared mourning, the OFL finds hope. Hope for a future where every worker returns home safely at the end of the day. Today, we mourn for the dead, and we commit to fight for the living, for justice, and the dignity of injured workers. Every worker.
This annual award is to acknowledge and celebrate individuals or groups who have made a significant or ongoing contribution to the advancement of the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQIA+) human rights, equity, and inclusion. We are seeking nominees who are leaders in advancing equity and quality of life for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in workplaces, communities, and globally.
The OFL encourages affiliates, local unions, and labour councils to view their nominees through an intersectional lens when making their selections. Affiliates are encouraged to nominate Pride activists who identify within equity seeking groups such as Indigenous, Black, racialized, and/or living with disabilities.
Download the nomination form.
Download the nomination criteria.
Please submit your nomination by completing a nomination form and submitting a letter of support explaining why the nominee is eligible based on the award criteria. Please include all the nominee’s contact information. All nominations must be made in writing and received at the Ontario Federation of Labour by May 31, 2024.
Selection: The OFL Solidarity and Pride Committee will review written nominations and make a recommendation to the OFL Officers and Executive Board.
For more information on the OFL SOLIDARITY & PRIDE CHAMPION AWARD, please contact Magy Lofoli via email at [email protected].
Yours in solidarity,
Laura Walton
President, Ontario Federation of Labour
And
Rob Boulet
Vice President, Solidarity and Pride
The following OFL media release was issued on Globe Newswire on Thursday, April 25, 2024.
TORONTO, April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling on Premier Doug Ford to reverse the racist and discriminatory ban on the keffiyeh at Queen’s Park, which members of his caucus continue to support.
On two occasions this week, MPPs had the opportunity to support an ONDP motion to overturn the ban, instituted by Speaker of the Legislature Ted Arnott, but defended it instead.
“To target a cultural community like this, in 2024, is simply unconscionable,” said OFL President Laura Walton. “As labour leaders, we won’t stand for it. If Ford won’t end this racist ban, we’ll defy it.”
The keffiyeh is a long-standing and deeply significant cultural symbol for Palestinians, widely understood in the Arab world and internationally as an expression of Palestinian identity.
“It’s a disgrace that Arab-Canadian community members were denied entry into legislative buildings this week–simply because they were expressing their identity as Palestinians,” said Ahmad Gaied, OFL Secretary-Treasurer. “An attack on my community is an attack on all communities in Ontario, and we condemn it.”
Earlier today, Toronto Star reporter Kristin Rushowy tweeted this iconic photo from Queen’s Park, where Independent MPP Sarah Jama (Hamilton Centre) was being asked to leave the Legislature for wearing a keffiyeh.
“This racist ban not only targets a particular community, but also those who speak out for them, as Sarah has done with courage and dignity,” said Walton. “The targeting of Sarah in the Legislature is outrageous, and we won’t stand for that, either.”
The labour movement, including the OFL, has a long history of defending workers and community members from many cultural groups who have faced similar bans on expressions of their identity. At the OFL’s biennial convention in November 2023, Ontario workers reaffirmed their commitment to oppose anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and other forms of racism and hate.
“We’ve been down this road in the past, with bans on the hijab, the kippah, the dastar, and other items of clothing that express someone’s faith, identity, or association,” said Gaied. “We were right to oppose those bans then, and we’re going to do the same now–until it’s overturned.”
Ford’s government has instituted other bans at Queen’s Park over the years, including on the colour purple during a province-wide strike by education workers in November 2022. At the time, Conservative MPPs perceived purple clothing as expressions of solidarity with workers who were defending their labour rights.
In response to the keffiyeh ban, the OFL has launched an email tool that allows Ontarians to tell Ford and the Conservatives to end it.
In addition, the OFL has called an emergency rally at Ford’s Constituency Office, 823 Albion Road in Etobicoke, on Friday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m., to bring the public’s opposition to the ban to Ford’s doorstep.
“As Premier of Ontario, and as leader of his party, Ford can’t stand by while his MPPs target these communities–or the people standing up for them, like Sarah Jama,” said Walton. “But we won’t wait for Ford to find his voice. We’re taking action this week, and we won’t stop until the ban is reversed.”
The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. It is the largest provincial labour federation in Canada. Visit OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
This statement is also available at Globe Newswire.
For more information, please contact:
Jenny Sellathurai
Interim Director of Communications
Ontario Federation of Labour
[email protected] | 416-894-3456
HAMILTON, ON, April 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)— The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is calling on Mayor Andrea Horwath to uphold the public interest by voting against the proposed privatization of Hamilton’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) line. On April 24, the Hamilton City Council will vote on a 10-year public-private partnership, aimed at outsourcing operations and maintenance to a private contractor.
“Ontario unions have long supported Andrea Horwath for her opposition to privatization, including her robust defence of public services from the profit-driven agenda of Doug Ford’s government “We fully expect her to uphold this principled stance–and protect public services and the good union jobs that sustain them.”
For 150 years, the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) have successfully operated and maintained Hamilton’s transit system. “Given the proven capabilities and track record of the HSR and ATU, there is absolutely no justification for privatizing the Hamilton LRT,” Walton added.
“Municipalities across Ontario have suffered enough from flawed public-private partnerships, as seen in Ottawa and Toronto. Privatization often compromises quality and safety for supposed cost savings,” Walton continued.
The Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto has experienced 12 years of construction, billions in cost overruns, and a lack of accountability. Similarly, the O-Train in Ottawa has faced derailments, delivery delays, and severe operational issues, along with numerous safety concerns.
“We must learn from these failures and prevent them from happening again,” Walton added. The OFL reminds Hamilton City Councillors of their 2017 commitment to keep the LRT public under the HSR’s operation.
The labour movement calls on Mayor Horwath and the City Council to do the right thing–keep transit public in Hamilton to prevent placing an untenable financial burden on Hamiltonians for years to come.
The Ontario Federation of Labour represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. It is the largest provincial labour federation in Canada. Visit OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
This statement is also available at GlobeNewswire.
For more information, please contact:
Jenny Sellathurai
Interim Director of Communications
Ontario Federation of Labour
[email protected] | 416-894-3456
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