Canada

August 5 will mark the eighth month of lockout for the fifty workers at Béton Provincial (BP) in LaSalle and Longueuil. The lockout was triggered by the employer after the workers unanimously rejected a management offer they deemed unacceptable. Concrete industry workers across the province are watching this fight closely, as the contract that these workers obtain will likely serve as a precedent.

During negotiations, the LaSalle and Longueuil workers are asking for an 18% wage increase over four years. For its part, the employer is offering nothing less than a complete wage freeze until 2027, followed by a 2% annual increase in 2028 and 2029, as well as the abolition of pension and group insurance plans.

It should be noted that the consumer price index in Quebec has risen by 15.5% over the past four years.

According to workers at the LaSalle plant interviewed by North Star, the hardline stance of controversial CEO André Bélanger can be explained by the fact that the company is seeking to set an example by “cutting off the head” of one of the industry's “strongest” unions:

This seems to focus on condo builds, which are often sold to investors and speculators. The article mentions that builders can pivot to rentals. It also mentions builders need financing, which should be available from our new housing-friendly CMHC ~~replacement~~ flanker, right?

Trolling aside, it'll be interesting to see how the various levels of government react. Commentators have been saying that prices in Vancouver are pushed by foreign investment (and a hint of money laundering), so this shouldn't be a surprise.

Major players in B.C.’s housing industry are calling on federal and provincial governments to loosen restrictions on foreign investment in Canadian homes to avoid a crash they say will deepen the country’s housing crisis.

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The letter, signed by companies such as Beedie Living, Westbank, Amacon, Cressey and Polygon, argues that having some level of foreign investment to provide the capital for the early stages of condo projects is key.

“New condo development requires presales to meet financing thresholds, part of which relies on investor-focused buyers. Closer to occupancy, sales typically shift more toward owner-occupiers.

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But Hani Lammam, executive vice-president at the long-time Vancouver building company Cressey Development Group, said residential construction in major cities in Canada can’t function without the ability to get capital from somewhere besides Canadian citizens, companies or pension funds.

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The downturn is worse than what the industry experienced in 2008 during the global financial crisis, when construction activity plummeted. Several developers turned to rental at that point and presale condo projects slowed down briefly but recovered within a year, in part because of the foreign capital that was still pouring into the city.

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Although foreign investors represent a small proportion of Canadian homeowners – Statistics Canada estimates have pegged it at between 2 per cent and 6 per cent – they can have an outsize impact when all their investing is done in a few targeted neighbourhoods.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-developers-mark-carney-david-eby-foreign-investment-housing-supply/

‘Missing and Stolen: Disappearances and Trafficking of Indigenous Peoples in Canada”. It highlights the tragic intersection between cases of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in Canada and human trafficking, showing how Indigenous women can swiftly go from missing into trafficking networks.

Human trafficking has an immense human cost. Our study seeks to support detection and prevention efforts, as well as helping deliver justice for survivors.

MONTREAL — Air Canada flight attendants start voting today on whether to give a strike mandate to their union.

The vote, running through to Aug. 5, comes after the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees concluded the conciliation process with no deal reached.

“This is where our strength lies and this is how we will show the company that we are united, serious, and will accept nothing less than the contract we deserve,” it said in a message to members.

It noted that a strike can’t take place until after a 21-day cooling-off period after the 60-day conciliation period has expired, and in the meantime continues to work toward a deal.

“Air Canada is committed to the bargaining process and remains fully available to continue negotiations towards a fair and equitable collective agreement with CUPE that recognizes the contributions of its Flight Attendants and supports the competitiveness and long-term growth of the company,” it said in a July 25 statement posted on its website.

The airline continues to see lower demand for trips to the U.S., with revenue dropping 11 per cent on eight per cent less capacity, says president and CEO Michael Rousseau.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian return trips by air from the U.S. declined throughout the first five months of 2025, dropping 14 per cent year-over-year in April and 24.2 per cent in May.

Avoid Paywall

from the article:

CBC News has examined both sets of records. At time of publication, the searchable website of the Israel Tax Authority details 2025 imports of Canadian "bullets" and other military hardware of a kind that Ottawa has said are not being, and cannot be, shipped to Israel.

The shipping data gives detailed tracking of military equipment that traces back to the door of one of Canada's biggest arms companies, as recently as last week.

While Canada is not joining France in recognizing a Palestinian state, it is funding the Palestinian Authority's preparations to lead a globally recognized country that includes Gaza and the West Bank.

archive: https://archive.is/d4VFu

The feedback from the First Nations leadership summit on the federal government’s push to build big projects — first introduced under Bill C-5 — has been almost universally negative. After attending last week’s gathering in Gatineau, Que., Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs provided a scathing, albeit representative, summary.

“The sole purpose of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s First Nations summit was to serve notice on Canada’s First Nations that Bill C-5 is now the law of the land,” Phillip said in a statement. “Further, First Nations are now expected to fully accept and accommodate that reality.” Or even more pointedly, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation Chief Craig Nootchtai called it a “subjugation session — not a consultation session.”

Neither of them were wrong.

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But the day before I was due to depart, I received a notice from the organizers cancelling my participation, and apparently reneging on the commitment to reimburse me for my non-refundable flights and hotel.

And I wasn’t the only one. Chiefs of Ontario told the Canadian Press in a statement, “It’s disappointing that technical staff, experts and lawyers from organizations and First Nations who were going to attend this meeting were uninvited after they were allowed to register. They all spent money on travel and accommodations to support chiefs during this critical discussion.”

“Failure of the state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system from GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions including through fossil fuel production, fossil fuel consumption, the granting of fossil fuel exploration licenses, or the provision of fossil fuel subsidies may constitute an internationally wrongful act which is attributable to that state,” the court wrote in its unanimous decision.