Raitt's a zero

18 posts / 0 new

Tue, 2012-02-14 10:32

Caissa

Raitt's a zero

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is again intervening in a labour dispute at Air Canada, initiating a six-month mediation process after telling pilots and the company that any work stoppage would be contrary to the interests of Canadians.

Raitt met with representatives of the airline and the Air Canada Pilots Association on Monday, telling them that the government has been "closely following" the so-far failed negotiations between the two sides.

"We believe that a work stoppage at Air Canada is contrary to the best interest of hard-working Canadians, Canadian businesses and the already fragile economy," said Raitt in announcing the new mediation process.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/02/14/air-canada-pilots-raitt...

Tue, 2012-02-14 21:38

Red Tory Tea Girl

*sighs* Would that the labour minister would do this when Wal-mart shuts down a unionized store... And yes, strikes are, by their nature, disruptive. The reason they exist is to deter companies from trying to squeeze working conditions.

Fri, 2012-02-17 09:17

Caissa

And Raitt hasn't even considered intervening in the case of Acadian Coach Line workers who have been locked out since December. Probably because the rich rarely travel by bus and management is trying to squeeze major concessions out of the workers.

Fri, 2012-02-17 09:28

Unionist

Cool thread title, Caissa! She really does.

Fri, 2012-02-17 09:31

Boom Boom

Did Lisa Raitt make any comment on the Caterpillar/EMD lockout?

Fri, 2012-02-17 10:04

Unionist

Boom Boom wrote:

Did Lisa Raitt make any comment on the Caterpillar/EMD lockout?

She doesn't need to. She only comments when there's a work stoppage and she needs to intervene to get production rolling again. This one ended peacefully with the blood-sucking bastards taking our factory and leaving. That's what Raitt sees as a win-win.

Fri, 2012-02-17 10:41

Red Tory Tea Girl

@Caissa As far as Atlantic Canada, I have absolutely no idea why it's the one place in North America that Greyhound won't go. Kills my hope of an affordable cross-country vacation, not that I'd support Acadian after these shenanigans.

Wed, 2012-02-29 14:04

Caissa

Raitt's a zero and so is Finley.

The federal government is shutting down its seasonal student job centres, saving $6.5 million annually, and instead is bolstering online job resources for youth.

Canadians accustomed to visiting a Service Canada Centre for Youth to hunt for a summer job no longer have that option. The offices were located across the country, and were generally open from May to August.

A spokeswoman for Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said the number of students using the centres has declined significantly over the last few years, "making them less effective and relevant for today's youth," said Alyson Queen.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/02/29/pol-jobs-online.html

Wed, 2012-03-07 13:37

Caissa

The federal government is worried about the possibility of a strike at Air Canada as early as next week, and says a work stoppage would not be in the best interests of the Canadian public.

"The government is concerned that a strike is possible and is taking this situation very seriously," Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said Wednesday.

March Break travel plans for Canadians were thrown into disarray late Tuesday when the union that represents 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents at Air Canada issued notice they will go on strike as of 12:01 a.m. ET on March 12 unless a new contract is signed by then.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/03/07/air-canada-raitt-ottawa.html

Meanwhile Raitt continues to have no interest in this lockout.

The New Brunswick government is refusing to step into the four-month-old Acadian Lines lockout as workers and customers anxiously hope the buses will begin to roll soon.

Department of Transportation officials met with the company in January. At that meeting, the department maintained its position that the provincial government will not be providing subsidies to Acadian Bus Lines.

"We understand the inconvenience this service disruption has caused for those who rely upon it and that it has had an impact on many New Brunswickers," said Transportation Minister Claude Williams in a statement on Tuesday.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/03/07/nb-acadian-...

Wed, 2012-03-07 13:43

#10

Boom Boom

Raitt is a horrible person and probably already has plans to legislate the strike Monday out of existence if they don't settle first.

Wed, 2012-03-07 19:38

#11

Boom Boom

Someone on P&P tonight made the point that Air Canada is not an essential service - because there's so much competition now. However, Tom Flanagan then made the argument that Air Canada, despite now being a private company, nevertheless has a 'protected' market share and in a sense it is essential as it's by far the major carrier in those markets. Flanagan observed that Stephen Harper likes nothing better than a good ole fight against the unions that he can't lose.

Mon, 2012-03-12 14:46

#12

Caissa

Labour Minister Lisa Raitt says there is "no doubt" an Air Canada strike would be bad for Canadians, bad for workers and would be harmful to the airline and the economy -- and the government isn't about to let it happen.

Raitt is tabling legislation Monday in the House of Commons "to protect the Canadian economy and travelling public from a potential work stoppage at Air Canada," according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Mon, 2012-03-12 14:49

#13

Boom Boom

I saw her on CBC and she dodged a question about she did not intervene in the Caterpillar lockout and then when the company left the country with all those Canadian dollars of government handouts.

Thu, 2012-04-26 13:16

#14

Caissa

The federal ethics commissioner has cleared Labour Minister Lisa Raitt over a complaint about a seat upgrade on an Air Canada flight.

Mary Dawson says Raitt did nothing wrong in the case.

It was alleged that Raitt accepted an upgrade authorized by a senior Air Canada official at a time when the airline was in the midst of labour turmoil and Raitt had mused about back-to-work legislation.

In fact, Dawson says, the minister used a frequent-flyer credit to get the upgrade to business class on a flight to Ottawa from Toronto last September.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/04/26/pol-cp-raitt-conflict-a...

Wed, 2012-08-08 13:58

#15

Caissa

The Federal Court ordered Guy Dufort to step aside today as the arbitrator in the Canada Post dispute and directed Labour Minister Lisa Raitt to pick someone else.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers had applied to the court for a judicial review of Dufort's appointment, arguing there were reasonable grounds of bias. Now Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer has agreed and granted the review.

After he was appointed by Raitt in March, Dufort disclosed to the union that he had been a prosecutor for Canada Post during the pay equity dispute from 1998 to 2003 and that he had been involved with the Conservative Party of Canada until 2010.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/08/08/pol-canada-post-arbitrator.html

Wed, 2012-08-08 15:18

#16

Bärlüer

Not mentioned in the news story (just in the [French-only] decision): one of the other elements submitted by CUPW were printouts of the Facebook page of Guy Dufort, which showed that he had as a friend...... why yes, Lisa Raitt! (She was added in July 2010; in the decision in which he rejects the request that he recuse himself, Dufort had said that he had ended all his political activities and affiliations in January 2010...)

Not that Facebook friends are especially determinative for this kind of issue, but still...

Wed, 2012-08-08 15:58

#17

Unionist

It [i]was[/i] mentioned in the story:

Quote:

To help make its case that Dufort was an inappropriate choice, the union used Dufort's Facebook page, saying that Conservative party groups were listed as "activities and interests" and that Raitt and Steven Fletcher, who is minister of state for transport in 2011, were both listed as "friends." Canada Post falls under Fletcher's portfolio. Those references on Dufort's Facebook page were removed in May.

Wed, 2012-08-08 16:25

#18

Bärlüer

Oops. Please disregard, dismiss and otherwise carry on...