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Despite pandemic, Sudbury marks Labour Day, just in a different way

‘People are stepping up, and we can’t just let that fade away,’ says labour council prez

While this year's Labour Day celebration in Greater Sudbury was remarkably different from years past, it still showed the love and pride among the working class citizens of Greater Sudbury, said the president of the Sudbury and District Labour Council.

Micheal Bellerose was one of several dozen people who gathered at the United Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street on Sept. 7 to mark the annual event.

Cars paraded from the South End to the hall, where speeches were given (participants tuned in to the radio to hear the speeches) and sandwiches were handed out, all while practising safety in the midst of a pandemic.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic, and there are so many people going above and beyond in their duties, regardless of which sector they work in,” Bellerose said. “That has to be celebrated. They are taking on roles they normally wouldn’t. People are stepping up, and we can’t just let that fade away.”

The major issue organized labour is dealing with, not only in Sudbury, but across the province right now, is Bill 195, said Bellerose.

“It’s disgusting,” he said. “It strips away collective bargaining rights we’ve fairly negotiated, and it’s disappointing to know we have employers here in this community using the bill.Talk to your unions, work together, there’s no need to use Bill 195. We understand it’s a pandemic, but it doesn’t mean we can’t work together.”

A 40-hour work week, child labour laws and equal pay for genders are some of the things people take for granted, but the reality of it is, these are all things that have been fought for over the years, said Sudbury MPP Jamie West, the NDP’s labour critic. 

“That’s why it’s important to celebrate Labour Day, and to celebrate the fact people work,” he said. “More often, recognition is given to the CEOs of the world. Everyone knows who the richest person in the world is, but there’s no recognition of the employees of Amazon.”

He said while he missed the picnic and entertainment at Bell Park, it was still nice to see the vehicles parading over the Bridge of Nations en route to the United Steelworkers Hall.

“It’s a great way of adapting during COVID,” he said.


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Arron Pickard

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