Machinists’ News

On December 18, 2009, Canada and the European Union (EU) signed an “Open Skies” air transport Agreement, which provides a framework for progressively deregulating air travel between Canada and Europe. What Does the Agreement Say? Like other “free trade” deals, this Agreement says that the ideal system is based on “competition among airlines in the marketplace with minimum government interference and regulation”.   While the Agreement makes reference to impacts on

Ottawa, On – IAMAW Local Lodge 2323 member Jim Stewart’s photo of IAMAW members de-icing Air Force One during President Barack Obama’s first visit to Canada in February, was the first place winner in the 2009 IAM Photography Contest. Jim took the picture of IAMAW Local Lodge 2413 members Nigel George (left) and Al Johnston (right) as they applied de-icing fluid to Air Force One prior to its departure from

Moncton, NB – The Maritime Council of Machinists elected a new executive board for the upcoming term at the recent two-day MCM Conference held in Moncton, New Brunswick. Canadian GVP Dave Ritchie swears in the new slate of executive officers for the Maritime Council of Machinists in Moncton New Brunswick The new MCM Executive Board (from left to right) back row – Andrew MacFarlane – VP Nova Scotia, Mike Scully

Next summer (2010) the Ontario Government is set to put into force its new harmonized GST/PST sales tax which will apply a 13% sales tax to everything we purchase. Things That Were Not Subject To The Current 8% PST Will Be Now Taxed As a result, things that were not previously taxed under the current Ontario Provincial Sales Tax (PST) will be taxed at 8%. The new 13% tax will

I recently wrote about the “pension crisis” and what was needed to improve income protection for Canadian seniors. While several provinces have been working on new pension rules, it was federal Finance Minister Flaherty who made the first move, with his announcement on October 26 of proposed changes to federal pension legislation. While there were some positive elements in Flaherty’s announcement, it was far short of what we need. His

If you look at the newspapers this week, you could be forgiven for thinking that there have been sudden dramatic changes in Canadian pension plans. It seems like everyone is writing articles about the pension crisis – disappearing pension plans, bankruptcies, workers losing plans, retirees afraid of starving. Unfortunately, lot of what is being written is confusing and in some cases, confused, so I’ll try to briefly sort out what

“Excellent story about SMS in Canada”Recently, I came across a very interesting but lengthy story about Safety Management System (SMS) in Canada titled “Fly At Your Own Risk: Why is Transport Canada moving toward self-regulation for the country’s airlines?” Once in a while you come across a story that just can’t be ignored and captures the issue in its entirety from someone else’s perspective. This story featured in The Walrus