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Ontario liquor board workers reach deal to dodge strike
Ontario residents won’t need to worry in looking for their alcohol fix this Victoria Day weekend.
Unionized workers at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario prevented a strike that could have paralyzed its store operations - a first in its 87-year history.
In a report by C-B-C News, the workers union reached a tentative deal with their employers on midnight, Friday.
The issue was about Part-time and temporary work for L-C-B-O employees.
Details were not made public until the bargaining committee presents the deal to worker's union for approval.
Smokey Thomas leads Ontario's Public Service Employees Union, representing over 7-thousand L-C-B-O workers.
Thomas told C-B-C News that both parties made the deal as fair as it can be both workers at the liquor board and for Ontario taxpayers.
The L-C-B-O is Ontario's counterpart to the Société des alcools du Québec, or the S-A-Q.
Flickr Photo by: Mr. T in DC
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
Crees demand forestry revocation
The Cree Grand Council is asking for Montreal based Resolute Forest Products to have its sustainable forestry certification revoked.
According to the Gazette, the Cree insist that Resolute is not following sustainable forestry practices in the 750 thousand hectare area of land north of Chibougaumou where their traplines are located.
Among the complaints, the Cree say Resolute didn’t obtain their consent for forestry operations, and that Resolute has been clear-cutting.
Resolute was certified for sustainable forestry management by Forestry Stewardship Council last year, but an audit found that the company had not obtained Cree consent after the Cree objected, and the company was given three months to correct the situation.
Last month, the certification was reconfirmed, despite Cree demands for the contrary.
Greenpeace has also published a 20 page report which accuses Resolute of problematic relationships with first nations, unsustainable practices in the Boreal forest and making false claims about their green product line.
Seth Kursman, spokesperson for Resolute, said the company will take the necessary steps to protect the reputation of the company, its employees and their customers.
Flickr Photo by: intdev
STORY WRITTEN BY: CATLIN SPENCER
P.M. questiones effectiveness of inquiry
Prime Minister, Stephen Harper is questioning the effectiveness of an inquiry called to investigate aboriginal women deaths and vanishings reports CBC News.The Smittens! Friday on Twee Time
Tune in to thee Twee Time show this Friday, May 17th at 8-9 PM for an interview with indie-pop band The Smittens! We're gonna play some tracks off their latest album, Believe Me, and chat about their show coming up on Saturday May 25th @ Taverne Inspecteur Épingle with the Tigercats and Making Marks.
CJLO News - May 15 2013
Hosted by: Catlin Spencer
Stories by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Hannah Besseau & Spoon Jung
Produced by: Saturn De Los Angeles
Body Cavity Search threatened for Guantánamo Strikers
According to the Guardian, US guards at Guantánamo Bay are insisting on a body cavity search before any hunger striker can contact their lawyer, either via an in-person interview at the base or with a phone call.
Clive Stafford Smith, the founder of legal group Reprieve, which represents various detainees in Guantánamo Bay, said strikers do not need to be sexually assaulted in order to access a telephone to talk to their lawyer.
Smith stated that two of his clients and at least one other detainee
refused to go through with the body cavity search, and therefore was unable to talk to their lawyers.
The US military has denied these claims. Lt. Col. Samuel House stated full frisk searches are conducted in a professional manner, with clothes on, similar to a pat-down search conducted by an airport security screener.
House added that detainees were searched when they moved between facilities or outside of camp, such as for a phone call, a legal appointment or a non-emergency medical appointment, and that refusal would result in not being escorted to any appointment by the guard force.
STORY WRITTEN BY: SPOON JUNG
More financial aid for Quebec students
Financial aid has been improved for Quebec Cegep and university students announced the P.Q. on Tuesday.
The Gazette reports that the aid will help around 160 000 post-secondary students.
The agreement calls for an extra $160 a year or $20 a month per student who request it.
Part-time students travelling to their cegep or university will get a break as well. They will get $728 in travel expenses.
Higher education minister, Pierre Duchesne, announced the agreement was made with leaders of top student associations. The negotiations began with a general meeting in February.
Flickr Photo by: Shaylor
CJLO News - May 13 2013
Produced by Erica Bridgeman
Hosted by Carlo Spiridgliozzi
Stories written by Natasha Taggart, Spoon Jung, Saturn De Los Angles and Catlin Spencer
Gender-neutral restrooms a possibility in Philly
In a campaign to make Philadelphia the most LGBT-friendly city in the world, mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation to future public restrooms gender neutral.
The move is to accommodate transgender people who feel uncomfortable going into public restrooms assigned to men and women.
City Councilor Jim Kenney sponsored the bill.
He spoke to N-B-C News Philadelphia on the difficult and awkward for transgender people to go into male and female restrooms.
In addition, the City is also working to give transgender people equal access to healthcare benefits as their heterosexual counterparts, a move that Kenney calls as the next iteration of civil rights and freedom in the U.S.
The gender-neutral washrooms will be built in future buildings owned by the City of Philadelphia.
Flickr Photo by: andybrannan
STORY WRITTEN BY: SATURN DE LOS ANGELES
$200K lobster shipment blocked by fishermen
Fishermen in P.E.I. blocked a $200,000 lobster shipment destined for the US from leaving the island, in a protest against unfairly low lobster prices, this past Saturday.
According to CBCNews, lobster fishermen across the Maritime have been protesting low lobster prices, which vary across the three provinces and range from between $2.75 and $3.75 per pound for canner lobster, and between $3.25 and $4 per pound for market-sized.
Many fishermen say anything less than $5 a pound is unreasonable, due to the rising cost of fuel and bait.
Tensions remained high after a hundred fishermen continued their blockade of the Beach Point processing plant in P.E.I. on Saturday, despite an injunction being filed against them earlier in the week.
In eastern New Brunswick, lobster fishermen tied up their boats for a fourth day on Saturday to protest the low prices they are receiving for their catch.
Lobster is Canada’s most valuable seafood export. Around 50,000 to 55,000 tonnes of lobster is caught annually in Canada, with 78% headed for the US market, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the Canadian economy.
Flickr Photo by: klwatts
STORY WRITTEN BY: SPOON JUNG
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