Saturday, 4 May 2024

COVID-19

Media release: Political decision to restore in-person learning creates anxiety and uncertainty in public school system

Media release: Premier Iain Rankin’s commitment to maintaining remote learning for the final few weeks of June brought closure and a level of certainty to students, teachers and families after COVID-19 ravaged the public school system in late April. Today’s announcement will generate more anxiety and needless confusion for families already struggling under the impacts of this pandemic, according to the NSTU.

Press release: CCLA to challenge Nova Scotia’s protest injunction

Press release: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) will challenge the Government of Nova Scotia’s exceptionally broad injunction limiting protests in the province. The current injunction restricts freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of peaceful assembly.

Press Release: Advocacy group urges Nova Scotia to ensure that migrant workers aren’t “left behind” in vaccine roll out

Media release: In January 2021, Dr. Strang indicated that migrant workers would be included in Phase 2 of the provincial COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan. This was based on the recognition that migrant workers living in congregate settings are a vulnerable population in Nova Scotia. Moreover, the province’s vaccine plan prioritizes essential workers. However, the Working Group estimates that the majority of migrant workers have not yet been able to receive their first dose of the vaccine due to a number of barriers in the province’s current vaccine plan that make it especially difficult for them to do so.

Injunction against protests too broad and sweeping

Stephen Wentzell on the injunction banning protests during the current lockdown: “This is a slippery slope that we as Nova Scotians should pause and reflect on. And as we have seen before, when given the powers police will disproportionately focus on poor and/or racialized people.”

Media release: Paid sick days reimbursement plan is inadequate

Media release: The Halifax Workers Action Centre (“Halifax-WAC”) says the Liberal Government’s plan to provide a reimbursement to employers for providing paid sickness leave to employees is a move in the right direction, but the plan falls far short of what Nova Scotia workers need.

Danny Cavanagh: The fight for 10 permanent paid sick days continues

Danny Cavanagh: The Nova Scotia Government’s announcement of four days of paid sick leave is a great win for all of us who have been advocating for it. But we know that four days is not enough, and we know that employers should be paying for it, not the taxpayers and above all, it must be permanent, not temporary.

‘Going down the road’ comes home to bite Nova Scotia (updated)

12 Comments

John McCracken: Looking back at the last month of our caseloads, and more specifically, our provincial government’s actions, there is a compelling argument to be made that our province’s historic reliance on workers having to earn a living in other parts of the country has now come home to bite us.