SPREADING BULLSHIT SHOULDN’T BE THIS EASY. The idea that the CERB payments are a drag on business recovery made the headlines. It’s pure bullshit. But it made the headlines because a news release from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said it’s true.

NADEN ABENES WON’T EAT TODAY. She’s on the second day of a hunger strike along with nine other members of Unite Here Local 40 in Vancouver, B.C. The hotel workers say their extreme action is necessary to bring attention to their fear of being denied work once the hospitality industry completely reopens.

 “WE COME HERE TO WORK. NOT TO DIE.” The words belong to a migrant worker on a farm in Quebec. They capture a hard truth: to be a migrant farmworker in Canada today puts you among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus and death on the job.

LUCAS LEE CAN’T AFFORD TO BE A HERO ANYMORE. Lucas worked for weeks during the worst of the pandemic in Ontario. He quit on June 22 when Loblaws cut his pay and hours.

STEPHEN McNEIL HAS NO USE FOR EQUALITY. Not when it means paying all Licensed Professional Nurses (LPN) in Nova Scotia a fair salary. Five unions have launched a major campaign to change that.

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME—JUST ASK JUSTIN TRUDEAU. MPs are doing that right now. They want to know if the WE Charity his government chose to dole out $900 million in public funds to student “volunteers” was too much of a cozy family affair.

PAYING YOUR DUES IN ALBERTA SOON WON’T BE ENOUGH. You’ll have to do more to get your union to do all the things unions have always done. You’ll have to specifically direct your union to go ahead and do all they can for you.

YOU HAVE TO DIE TO STAY HERE. That’s the harsh reality thousands of migrant workers in Canada face. Being “vital to the country’s food supply” isn’t enough.

WESTJET HAS DECIDED TO PLAY FAIR, KINDA. They have decided they will obey the labour law when it comes to worker layoffs. AirCanada not so much. Both airlines still want special treatment.

THINK AL PACINO IN DOG DAY AFTERNOON. The film where one man stands up to the banks to get justice. That was David Macdonald from the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) at the federal Standing Committee on Finance on June 18.