In the news today: Strike deadline passes for public service staff

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Strike deadline passes for public service staff

The deadline has passed for possible strike action to begin in British Columbia by an array of public service workers that includes liquor store staff, community college instructors and municipal workers.

Paul Finch, president of the BC General Employees’ Union and public service bargaining committee chair, announced Friday that a 72-hour notice of a potential strike had been issued, meaning strike action could come as early as this morning.

The BCGEU has about 34,000 members in fields including social services, health care, education, government liquor stores, prisons, courts and public administration.

The union announced Monday that a portion of its members — though it would not specify which — would be walking the picket lines starting this morning.

It says in a news release that Finch will join striking workers in Victoria, and there will also be picket lines in Prince George and Surrey.

The union said the strike vote was called after a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the agency in July, and it was revealed after voting closed on Friday that 92.7 per cent of members were in support of job action “if necessary.”

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Quebec declines legal aid to address racism

The Quebec government has turned down federal funding aimed at combating systemic racism in the criminal justice system, saying it doesn’t agree with the program’s approach.

The federal government first offered $6.64 million in funding to provinces and territories in 2021 to improve fairness in the courts. Spread out over five years, the money was aimed at addressing the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system by promoting the use of race and cultural assessments before sentencing.

These assessments — known as Impact of Race and Culture Assessments, or IRCAs — analyze how a convicted person’s experience of systemic racism contributed to their criminal charges.

While most provinces have accepted the federal funding aimed at supporting defendants or to cover the costs of assessments through their legal aid programs, Quebec has been opposed to providing this type of support.

“We are not party to any funding agreement involving Impact of Race and Culture Assessments, as Quebec doesn’t subscribe to the approach on which the funding program is based, namely systemic racism,” Marie-Hélène Mercier, a spokesperson for Quebec’s Justice Department, told The Canadian Press in an email.

Alberta Next Panel continues tour in Medicine Hat

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will be right at home in her political backyard tonight when she visits Medicine Hat, kicking off the back half of her provincewide consultations on the province’s relationship with Ottawa.

Smith, who represents the riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat in the Alberta legislature, will be joined by the 15 people she tapped to join her on the panel.

The first five town halls have aimed to address grievances with the federal government that Smith says are fostering separatist sentiment.

The six recommendations put forth by the Smith government for debate at the town halls have mostly been well received by audiences, though the panel has also faced criticism and drawn protesters at events in Edmonton and Red Deer.

The panel is scheduled to hear from Albertans in Lethbridge, Airdrie, Grande Prairie and Calgary over the next month.

In-office mandates likely to worsen traffic

Greater Toronto commuters are likely bracing for traffic and transit congestion to worsen over the coming months as a number of major employers get ready to increase in-office days.

Even before return-to-office mandates take effect, experts say vehicle traffic in the city is at a tipping point, while delays, construction and public safety concerns plague the public transit system.

“I think people should be very concerned, both policy-makers and commuters themselves, about the impact that a back-to-work mandate is going to have on the commute,” said Jennifer Keesmaat, a former chief planner for the City of Toronto.

Toronto’s traffic delays are due partly to congestion in the city’s relatively few arteries, said Giles Gherson, president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. Street parking, bike lanes, and in-street patio spaces during the summer months all contribute to clogged city streets, he noted.

Some of Canada’s big banks, including BMO, RBC, TD and Scotiabank, have all stated that more workers will be required to be in the office four days a week beginning in the fall. Some of the reasons cited by the banks include operational improvements and opportunities for collaboration.

Stuart Green, a spokesperson for the Toronto Transit Commission, said in a statement that the TTC always increases service in September as a seasonal adjustment, and intends to release more information in October regarding plans to increase service in the fall.

Canadian actor Graham Greene dead at 73

Oscar-nominated Canadian actor Graham Greene, who broke through with memorable roles across several genres at a time when the entertainment industry shunned Indigenous talent, has died at age 73

Greene’s management team said he died on Monday in Stratford, Ont., after a long illness.

The actor, who was born in Ohsweken, Ont., and is from the Six Nations Reserve, starred in a steady stream of film, television and theatre projects from the late 1970s onward.

He earned an Oscar nomination for the supporting role of “Kicking Bird” in the 1990 film “Dances With Wolves,” an American western co-starring and directed by Kevin Costner that won best picture.

Last year, he won a Canadian Screen Award for playing a version of himself in the comedy thriller “Seeds,” directed by Kaniehtiio Horn.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.

The Canadian Press