Mediation talks could be resuming
There’s a ray of hope that a walkout by 55-thousand educational support staff, set for this Friday, may be avoided.
Late last night the Canadian Union of Public Employees sent a counter-offer to the mediator.
A source close to the negotiations, but who is not authorized to speak publicly, has told the Vista National News Desk that members of the union’s central bargaining committee will be available for negotiations today and tomorrow.
Several media reports suggest the province is willing to continue negotiations if the mediator requests it.
The Ford government has introduced legislation that would compel the employees to accept their latest contract offer, but the union has said their members will stage a “day of protest” on Friday.
Food pricing
A sizable number of Canadians are being forced into dangerous practices due to rising food prices.
A survey, released today by the University of Saskatchewan, finds almost 20 percent of the population has reduced their meal portions, or skipped meals altogether, to cope with higher grocery costs.
More than 30 percent say they’ve started eating less-healthy food because it’s less expensive.
Almost six out of ten respondents say they’re now actively seeking out sales, or coupon-clipping, to reduce their grocery budgets.
Food prices, as of September, were 11.4 percent higher than a year earlier.
Funeral for B.C. officer today
Police officers from across Canada and parts of the United States will be in Richmond, B-C today for the funeral of RCMP Constable Shaelyn Yang.
Yang died last month after being stabbed in a Burnaby park, as she was helping a city employee speak to a homeless man.
A 37-year-old suspect has been charged with first-degree murder.
Yang was a member of the local detachment’s mental health and homeless outreach team.
Quebec and the Oath of Allegiance
The speaker of the Quebec National Assembly says members who don’t swear an oath of allegiance to King Charles the Third will not be allowed to take their seats in the legislature.
Fourteen members of the Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire say they won’t pledge allegiance to a monarch who “conquered” them.
The provincial government has said it will introduce legislation in the coming session to remove the pledge to Canada’s head of state.