Nova Scotia Federation of Labour
3700 Kempt Road, Sute 225 B3K 4X8 Halifax, NS, Canada

Its important to understand this is temporary and we hope it will become permanent. It is better then no protection. Good on the NDP in NS, ACRON and all the others who have been advocating for this.

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour joins Canada’s unions in marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In 2000, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution officially designating November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.... The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women observed every year on November 25 also marks the start of 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence. Gender-based violence was a crisis in Canada even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic, domestic violence has increased and measures to slow the spread of the virus have made it increasingly difficult for anyone living in an abusive relationship to escape their abusers. Over a third of women workers have experienced domestic violence and those numbers are even higher for trans people. A woman is killed by her intimate partner every 6 days in this country. Thousands of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people have been murdered or gone missing. And more than half of women have been exposed to sexual harassment at work. Shelters and support organizations in many areas have reported alarming increases in demand for services. With many people, working from home and many others laid off, the stress of economic insecurity, social isolation, fear of infection and other pressures raises the risk of escalating violence and creates new barriers to support. Calling a shelter or sexual assault centre can feel impossible when under a partner’s watch. Police interventions and wellness checks have proven deadly for Black and Indigenous people in particular. COVID-19 has also led to a rise in violence and harassment at work, especially for workers on the front lines in health care, food services and retail, and other public-facing jobs. We need a National Action Plan that will establish clear targets for eliminating gender-based violence. It must be intersectional and long-term and it must tackle gender-based violence and harassment at work. This means that Canada needs to ratify ILO Convention-190 on violence and harassment, and establish concrete ways to meet ILO obligations. Canada’s unions are ready to work with governments and employers to make this happen.

NDP Premier John Horgan speaking to the 870 delegates participating in the British Columbia Federation of Labour‘s convention. It is the Party that has the same values as workers.