Regional Executive Vice President in Yukon

  By Jack Bourassa   Red roses, thoughtful presents and beautiful words— that’s Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate love. On this Valentine’s Day, let’s be grateful and celebrate the women in our lives and beyond. Let’s raise awareness and take action to stop gender inequality that affects women nationally and around the world.

By Jack Bourassa    The secret to enjoying happy holidays this season is to live in the moment. It’s a simple concept: don’t get caught up thinking about the past or worrying about the future. Let’s get ready for the holidays with this mindset. I also want to suggest some actions that will consciously contribute to making our holidays happier.  

By Jack Bourassa  A homeless person asking for change. An unemployed hopeless youth. A single parent working two jobs. A worker earning a minimum wage that’s way below a Living Wage. A child deprived of nutritious food. A family striving to find an affordable place to call home. Poverty is real and we witness it every day.

A new year begins and with it a new hope that the working lives of Northerners continue to improve. As I have mentioned in a previous column, PSAC North is today announcing that we are starting a new campaign to increase the legal minimum wage. In partnership with other labour organizations across the North, we are calling on all three governments to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2019.

Across the country there is an increasingly accepted view that raising the minimum wage is both socially responsible and of net benefit to the economy. Within the last year, the public discourse around this subject has shifted dramatically after progressive leadership in several provinces have either announced a $15/hr wage floor before 2020; or put plans in place to work toward that figure before 2020.

There will be a Yukon Area Council - Annual General Meeting at the PSAC/YEU Union Hall in the Lucy Jackson Training Room on Nov. 14. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. 

There will be a Yukon Racially Visible Committee - Annual General Meeting at the PSAC/YEU Union Hall in the Local Room on Nov. 9. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m.

There will be a Yukon Access Committee - Annual General Meeting at the PSAC/YEU Union Hall in the Local Room on Nov. 7. The event will take place at 5:30 p.m.

There will be a Yukon Aboriginal Peoples' Committee - Annual General Meeting held at the PSAC/YEU Union Hall, at the Lucy Jackson Training Room on Thursday, Oct. 19.  The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. 

PSAC North asks citizens to wear an orange shirt on Saturday, September 30 to commemorate the Every Child Matters campaign. The day recognizes all of those who experienced the trauma of residential schools and recommits our support for national reconciliation with indigenous peoples. Please see the Orange Shirt Day Shirt website for more information.