History from the podium
Shirley Carr was the first woman to lead the Canadian Labour Congress. She could be blunt,as indicated in this speech made to a Canadian Club audience in 1986, shortly after her becoming CLC president. Employers and governments, she said, must recognize that unions are legitimate representatives of the interests of working people, and should be... Continue Reading →
Free trade is a timely topic. Back in 1998, Bob White was prominent labour leader in a citizens’ movement opposing the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. White said it would undermine Canadian sovereignty. He made this speech to the convention of the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union in Vancouver early in 1988.
As Hitler attacked the Jews in the 1930s many of them sought refuge in other countries, including Canada. This country turned them away. That was deeply painful to A. A. Heaps, a CCF MP from Winnipeg, who rose to criticize the government’s inaction. Heaps was one of the few Jewish Members of Parliament. "Never have... Continue Reading →
