Election 2008: You have the power to change Canada

Check NUPGE's election leaflet and visit our election resource web page

Ottawa (October 2008) - Now that a federal election has been called for Oct. 14 in Canada, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is urging members across the country to follow the campaign closely ? to get informed, to vote and to get like-minded friends to vote.

"You have the power to change Canada. It's as easy as 1! 2! 3!," NUPGE says in a special union election leaflet outlining the importance of getting involved.

The leaflet is available online. You can download it now. The union has also posted a special resource page to provide easy access to information throughout the campaign. You can visit our election page here.

"Some people say elections don’t matter because the major political parties are all the same," says NUPGE.

"They’re wrong. All political parties are not alike. Actually, the differences are profound. It’s essential that we do our homework and find out where the parties stand on issues that are important to working families so we can make an informed choice."

Working families in Canada need and want:

• An economic policy direction that creates well-paid and secure jobs, recognizes the value of public services to the economy, reduces the growing income inequality gap and provides affordable post-secondary education and training programs.
• A labour law policy direction that recognizes labour rights are human rights, supports the basic freedom of workers to join a union and bargain collectively, and complies with all standards set by the United Nations and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
• A health care policy direction that opposes for-profit care and reduces wait times by training and retaining more health professionals and expanding our public health care system to include coverage of home care, prescription drugs and mental health services.
• An environmental policy direction that invests in the public infrastructure and public employees needed to ensure clean water, safe food, pure air and poison-free communities.
• We also need a commitment to tackle climate change by putting a price on carbon that targets the big corporate polluters and a plan to implement a just transition strategy for workers and communities as we move to a cleaner, greener economy.
• A retirement security policy direction that provides seniors with dignity and a secure income during retirement. This requires a commitment to improve the quality and accessibility of long-term care, to expand Canada’s public pension system and to protect defined benefit workplace pension plans.
• An early learning and child care policy direction that will build a national, publicly funded program where all children get the early learning and care they deserve and families get the help they need to balance work and life responsibilities.
• A criminal justice policy direction that gets tough on the causes of crime, holds serious and violent offenders accountable and increases public funding to our justice system.
• An international affairs policy direction that provides 0.7% of our GDP to help fight extreme poverty, hunger and disease and an approach that promotes peace, development and fair trade between nations and works with the United Nations and other institutions of international cooperation.

"These are the progressive policy directions that will lead to a brighter and better future for ourselves, our families, our communities and our country." NUPGE.

More information:

Download Leaflet: In our hands is placed a power - VOTE - pdf
NUPGE and the Canadian Election 2008