Get free museum admission with your hamilton public library card
With a Hamilton Public Library card, you can access any of the Hamilton Civic museums for free. If you live, work or study within the city, you can drop by any library location to get yourself a card — there’s even one in Westdale (955 King St. West).
There are nine museums included in this offer, with a full list available on the city website. The city website features a 360° virtual tour for each site, so you can still experience them even if you can’t make it in person. Below you’ll find a brief taste of two of the museums that are included in the offer.
At its height, Dundurn was a monument of money and power, owned by Sir Allan Napier Macnab. The piano resting in the parlour would have cost more than a house at its time. The house was so impressive that it became generally known as a castle. The tour charts the building from top to bottom, covering the lives of both the Macnab family and their servants. For an hour, you’ll find yourself transported to the 1850s. There is information about the norms of this time period and most importantly, free food tastings. The shortbread is absolutely delicious.
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The building was restored in the late 1960s as part of the 100 years of Canadian Confederation celebration.
Dundurn and Hamilton’s Urban Indigenous Strategy currently have an exhibit open to the public that seeks to highlight violence that resulted from the Confederation. The exhibit was created by local Indigenous youth to call attention to Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Money raised by the Indigenous exhibition will be donated to the Drag the Red campaign, a volunteer-led organization searching the Red River in Winnipeg for evidence in unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The exhibit runs each week from Tuesday to Saturday until Nov. 5. Indigenous Elder and activist Wilamina McGrimmond is there on Wednesdays and Fridays to answer any questions about the exhibit and the issues it raises.
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Battlefield commemorates the Battle of Stoney Creek during the War of 1812, a significant battle in Canadian history. The tour includes an inside look at Battlefield House, owned by the Gage family at the time — the namesake for Gage Park. There is also an optional opportunity to go inside the war memorial that sits at the top of the hill. It’s truly an impressive sight, visible even at a distance, and offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding area.
Similar to Dundurn, Battlefield gives insight into the social climate of the 1800s, with a particular emphasis placed on familial bonds and expectations. If you’re interested in Canadian history, this is the place for you. It also includes information about how Battlefield became a museum, largely due to the contributions of Sara Calder and the Women’s Wentworth Historical Society.
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The grounds of Battlefield are currently dappled with autumn leaves. Beyond the historic significance, it’s a beautiful place to visit and explore.
The grounds of Battlefield are currently dappled with autumn leaves. Beyond the historic significance, it’s a beautiful place to visit and explore.
These are just a taste of the museums that you may visit with a library card. Since it’s spooky season, you could also go visit Whitehern HIstoric House and Garden. Remotely, you may access an online tour of two different underwater shipwrecks.
Make sure to take a trip to your local library to pick up a library card. The cards themselves are absolutely free and guarantee you admission to any civic museum, in addition to free books. Get out there and take a trip into Hamilton’s past.
Hamilton is increasingly becoming known as a haven for artists. This is demonstrated in the street art that has taken over the walls of the downtown core. Several of these pieces were created during Concrete Canvas, a visual arts festival that took place this past July. Each piece was painted legally and with permission from the city. Take this map along with you and go take in some of the art Hamilton has to offer!
Click a point on the map below to see some of the art!
Stop #1: 126 James St. South, “Gateway” by Vivian Rosas & Vesna Asanovic
This vibrant street mural is located on James Street, immediately next to the Hamilton Go Centre (36 Hunter St. E). It depicts different scenes from around the city through beautiful splashes of yellow, purple and orange. Scenes include hiking the Bruce Trail, walking along Art Crawl and eating pizza. It replaced an older, faded piece and is made of aluminum composite panels so that it can last for years to come.
Stop #2: 103 John St. South, Angelo Mosca tribute by @scottanddestroy
Scott McDonald is the lead curator of Concrete Canvas. His piece commemorates Angelo Mosca, a Canadian Football League player and professional wrestler known as King Kong Mosca or The Mighty Hercules. Mosca was a player for the Hamilton Tiger Cats and is in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is one of only a few players to have played in nine Grey Cup games. The painting is done in black, white and yellow to reflect the Tiger Cats colours, and shows Mosca running down the field.
Stop #3: 75-77 Hunter St. East, piece by @burnttoastcreative
This painting was done for Concrete Canvas by Burnt Toast Creative, also known as Canadian illustrator Scott Martin. It’s visible from blocks away with its blue sky and unique comic style. It sits directly opposite from the Angelo Mosca tribute and has an image of a giant hand holding someone aloft. If you're interested in his art style, you can see more of Martin's work on his website.
Stop #4: John Street and Jackson Street, parrot by @scottanddestroy
This painting was also done by Scott McDonald. It features a colourful parrot that brightens up the otherwise grim parking lot and bus stop nearby. It is offset slightly by the Kings Pizza logo located immediately next to the beak.
Stop #5: Main Street and John St. North, piece by @jordan_war
This painting was done by Jordan Warmington, a tattoo artist at John Street Tattoo (179 John St. S). It was also done as a part of Concrete Canvas. It decorates the construction plywood that has been sitting unadorned for several years now.
Stop #6: 81 King St. East, “Home Grown” by @luvsumone, @javid_jah and @danilotheartist
“Home Grown” was also done as a part of Concrete Canvas. It is located on the back of 81 King St. E, in a small alleyway. It features a house walking forward wearing boots. You can read more about this piece on @luvsumone's Instagram.
Stop #7: King Street East and Catherine Street, “Emanating Flash” by Kristofir Dean
This public art installation was created through the combined work of Effort Group, Scholar Properties Ltd. and the ARt Gallery of Hamilton. Dean is a contemporary artist and his work deals primarily in bright colours which can be found on display throughout the country, most notably at the Vancouver Mural in South Granville. You can read more about the piece on the installation itself.
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Last Friday’s climate strike brought the climate crisis to the forefront of public conversation. There is an ever-growing awareness of the dire reality of the climate emergency: if immediate, far-reaching action is not taken, there will be major harm to ecosystems and loss of life.
A 2018 report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that, in order to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C, carbon dioxide emissions would need to fall by about 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
Research tells us that the climate emergency is an existential threat requiring immediate, far-reaching action. It is clear that our reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable.
In order to properly address the climate emergency, we need rapid and unprecedented changes in every facet of society. We need to move away from our extraction-based economy that prioritizes growth and resource extraction, towards a justice-centred approach.
Currently, the university employs measures to understand and address climate change, including the McMaster Centre for Climate Change and the SUSTAIN program. McMaster also tracks and reports on its sustainability measures every year.
However, McMaster is more than just a research institution: the University has considerable financial, social and political power that it needs to use to push for far-reaching change.
Piecemeal solutions like banning plastic bags and reducing buildings’ energy consumption are good steps in the right direction, but they are not nearly enough.
Despite claiming to support pro-environment movements, McMaster provides financial support to the fossil fuel industry.
As of last year, $35.96 million, or 4.3 per cent, of McMaster’s endowment fund was invested in fossil fuel companies. By investing in the fossil fuel industry, the university provides not only financial support, but also social license to the very industries that are harming the planet. By continuing to fund the fossil fuel industry, McMaster helps to uphold a system that is completely unsustainable.
According to the Carbon Majors Database, 71 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be traced back to just 100 fossil fuel companies. Furthermore, pipelines and other dangerous projects have violated Indigenous land rights in order to extract fossil fuels.
Moving away from this economic system is a much larger discussion, but one tangible step that McMaster can take is to pull investments from the university’s divestment fund out of fossil fuel companies.
Divestment is not an end goal, but is a tactic that aims to “name and shame” the fossil fuel industry. It is morally reprehensible to profit off of the destruction of the planet, and pulling investments out of fossil fuel companies sends a clear message of condemnation.
In 2015, students, staff and faculty members issued petitions urging the university to divest from fossil fuel companies. Former president Patrick Deane struck an advisory committee, which came back with 12 recommendations for McMaster to pursue instead of full divestment.
More recently, MacGreenInvest, a McMaster faculty organization, issued a petition calling on McMaster to divest fossil fuel investments from McMaster’s endowment fund, and reinvest the funds in green renewable energy companies. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had over 1,000 signatures on Change.org.
McMaster prides itself on being a leader in sustainable development. It is unconscionable that they pay for this work by investing into companies that profit off of harming the environment.
On Sept. 27, hundreds of Hamiltonians gathered in Gore park to raise the alarm bell on climate change and urge leaders to take action.
The climate strike came as part of a week of mass climate actions from Sept. 20-27. Hamilton’s climate strike was one of many general strikes around the world, in which people walked out of school, work and their homes to raise the alarm on the climate crisis.
According to Global Climate Strike, an organization helping to coordinate the strikes, 7.6 million people around the world took part in actions around the world.
Since March, students from schools across Hamilton have been holding regular demonstrations at City Hall to bring attention to the climate emergency. They have been working alongside the Fridays for Future movement, in which students from around the world walk out of their classes to showcase the severity of the climate emergency. By missing out on classes and thereby making sacrifices to their education, they aim to demonstrate how deeply the climate crisis will affect their futures.
A 2018 report from the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change highlighted the severity of the climate emergency. According to the report, it is of critical importance to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 45 per cent in the next 11 years. The report found that failure to do so will result in ecological degradation and major loss of life.
Climate Strike Canada, an organization coordinating climate strikes across Canada, provides a list of demands for protestors across the country. The list includes a just transition to a renewable economy, the legal entrenchment of the right to a healthy environment, biodiversity conservation, rejection of all new fossil fuel extraction or transportation projects and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies.
Makasa Looking Horse, a youth leader from Six Nations spoke at Hamilton’s climate strike. She described how Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, noting that only nine per cent of the community has access to a water treatment plant.
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“In Six Nations – only 30 minutes away from here – we’re having a water crisis . . . And that should not be happening when we’re surrounded by Toronto and Hamilton. Everybody else has simple rights to electricity, to clean water, those are all human rights that we should have,” Looking Horse said.
Speakers at Hamilton’s strike presented different perspectives about the best ways to address the climate emergency.
Lily Mae Peters, a student at Westdale secondary school and one of the strike’s organizers, urged people to change their consumption patterns and make sustainable lifestyle changes.
Lane O’Hara Cooke, co-founder of Fridays for Future Hamilton, urged people to look beyond individual solutions to the climate crisis. She noted that the climate crisis is a systemic issue that requires systemic solutions.
“It is the one percent, it is the fossil fuel industry, that is doing the most damage. We need to stop giving tax cuts to these fossil fuel corporations, we can’t do it anymore,” she said.
Peters stated that the purpose of the climate strike was to raise awareness of the climate crisis and educate the public. According to Peters, the organizers of the strike wanted protestors to remain in the park.
“Fridays for future needs to be a peaceful movement, we need to bring people to an understanding about how climate change is, rather than blocking roads and creating inconvenience,” she stated.
However, many activists believe that in order to make change, it is necessary to disrupt public life. By shutting down traffic, protestors disrupt the status quo, thus giving people no choice but to pay attention.
Acting against the orders of police, hundreds of protestors marched down James Street south to Jackson Street west, eventually arriving at City Hall. A student-led group then marched into City Hall and demanded to speak to the mayor about how the city of Hamilton is going to combat the climate crisis.
The group occupied the building for approximately 20 minutes. Initially, police officers asked for a few representatives from the group to speak to the mayor. However, people were wary of “divide and conquer” techniques and wanted him to address everybody at once.
Eventually, protestors left the building and Mayor Fred Eisenberger addressed the crowd on the steps of City Hall. He thanked the protestors for pushing the city to make changes and urged them to keep pushing for change.
After a brief address, police officers escorted Eisenberger back inside. He did not answer questions from the crowd.
A group of approximately 20 protestors stayed after Eisenberger’s address and tried to enter City Hall, but were blocked by police officers.
While protestors had different ideas about tactics, their message was clear: Hamilton’s youth are demanding action on the climate emergency, and they are dedicated to holding leaders accountable to secure their futures.
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By Donna Nadeem, Contributor
If you walk by Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts (173 James St. North), you will no longer be able to peek through the gallery’s front window at the usual art. Instead, you will see a black curtain and green leaves, setting the atmosphere for the forest that has grown inside.
From Sept. 5 to Oct. 3, Andrew O’Connor, a Hamilton-based multi-disciplinary artist, is exhibiting his sculptural, audiovisual installation, “Lost Illusions” — transporting visitors to Hamilton’s surrounding forests.
O’Connor is a Hamilton-based artist, VJ and designer whose work explores and blends light, video, 2D mixed media, animation and interactive installations. O’Connor completed his undergrad at McMaster University in 2012 with a double major in multimedia and studio arts. O’Connor has exhibited in Europe, the United States and around Canada and is a confounding member of HAVN (26 Barton St. East).
“Lost Illusions” is about the moments of tranquility and solitude that resonate when being truly present with the natural landscape. Blending layers of painted surfaces infused with projected light, shadow and movement, the scenery elicits an introspective, meditative quality influenced from experiences of walking through moonlit trees under the midnight sky,” said O’Connor.
The exhibition was made possible with the support of the Ontario Arts Council’s Media Artist Creation Project grant. O’Connor’s core idea was to blend projection lighting with painting. Unsure of what the final form would take, but focusing on site specifics, he knew that he wanted his artwork to change the entire ambience of a room and influence how a person felt when they walked in.
“The whole idea was that I wanted to capture that peace and tranquility that you can feel when you’re immersed in nature. When you’re away from all the distractions of society, the technological distractions . . . all the fears and anxieties when they melt away, you’re at peace. That was something that I definitely wanted to convey above all. It doesn’t matter to me what people see specifically, it’s more about what emotions that people are feeling from it,” said O’Connor.
O’Connor experimented with a variety of different materials to be the foundation of his work. He tried acetate, but found that it ripped too easily when being transported. After much trial and error, the artist landed on dura-lar, a polyester film that is a mix between mylar and acetate.
O’Connor started with six stencil drawings that he created while hiking around local Hamilton forests. The artist scanned them into his computer, digitally cleaned them up and applied them to create the basis of “Lost Illusions”.
“One idea that stuck out for me was . . . I remember I would just film stuff as I was biking through woods. I started filming the treetops as I’m biking through woods and I would look at those video clips and that sort of imagery stuck with me . . . A lot of it are just closeups of trees with the sun shining through and gusts of wind blowing the leaves,” said O’Connor.
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Although the video component was vital to O’Connor’s piece, something was missing. He realized that audio can immerse an audience and add depth to artwork.
“Given my background with VJing, I did a bunch of recording sessions of myself using a MIDI controller fading in and out, activating certain effects on the video clips as I’m listening to the composition, taking those recording and splicing together the best bits,” said O’Connor.
The still art and projections amalgamate to enchant the viewer, transporting them directly into the heart of Mother Nature without the pressures of the outside world.
“If students want an escape from whatever’s happening in their life, the exhibition has a very entrancing affect on you if you give it the chance. As students, we can be extremely stressed with our studies, but this piece is an entrancing piece, it’s a sense of escapism from the stresses and anxieties of your life,” said O’Connor.
“Lost Illusions” is on display at Centre[3] for Print and Media Arts at 173 James Street North until October 3, 2019.
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The cornerstone of most championship teams is strong depth and players that can be subbed in who will deliver a great performance. This is especially true for the men’s cross country team, led by veteran runner Sergio Raez-Villanueva. With a bevvy of talented players on the roster, the team’s potential is sky high.
At their first meet of the year in Buffalo, the Marauders sat most of their veteran players to give them rest in preparation for a meet which took place this past weekend on the 21. This allowed many of the younger runners a chance to shine, which they most certainly did.
“Veterans and rookies alike, we always say at the end of the day once you’re on the start line it’s all up to you. Sometimes the veteran doesn’t have a good day but the rookie steps up and really helps. We’ve seen that happen before, never count the rookies out or anyone for that matter. It really comes down to how people are feeling and we help each other as a team and that’s why we’re a team in cross country,” said Raez-Villanueva, star of the cross country team.
Placing second overall at the meet, standout players like the aforementioned Raez-Villanueva, Sam Nusselder and Taylor Cornwall posted the top three finishes for McMaster at the Buffalo meet. All together their depth helped them place second overall and only one point behind the hosts, the University of Buffalo Bulls.
“Sometimes people aren’t having a good day and sometimes where it matters you can’t do it for some reason or another, maybe you’re a little sick but then there’s someone else who can take that charge and what’s nice about this team is that we have that depth that when someone is not feeling that well there’s someone who can take charge and help us get back to the place that we need to be in,” Raez-Villanueva added.
Their depth has gained recognition at the national level as they are ranked first in the country, after previously being ranked third at the start of the season. Even though this is very high praise, it is not something the team chooses to focus on.
“You never want to get too confident with rankings and such we don’t want to get into our heads. Within ourselves we always talk, the rank is just there for show sometimes. Sometimes it’ll tell you you’re doing worse some days better but in the end, we’re always training hard, we’re always putting in our best effort it doesn’t matter what they’re saying out there or what people are predicting,” Raez-Villanueva added.
The marauders look to build off a highly successful season last year where they graced the U sports championship podium for the first time in six years. They also got gold for the first time since 1964 at the Ontario University athletics championships last year. All together the cross country team is looking to repeat and have another historic season this year.
By Nicholas Marshall, Contributor
Grits. Reds. Libs. We need to talk. Let us consider Justin Trudeau’s domination in the 2015 federal elections. Here, Trudeau, the son of the heavenly father of our Constitution, descended from the lofty peaks of Canadian society to liberate our wretched souls from the clutches of Harper’s conservative austerity. I take it you were feeling pretty confident this time around. Trudeau was a media darling, beloved on the world stage and, in contrast with our neighbors to the south, a head of government that was hoping to unite our diverse population with Canada’s virtues of multiculturalism and equality.
But then, the scandals started rolling in. They began as relatively innocuous misdemeanours; his trip to India donning garb of another culture may have seemed like a substantial embarrassment, but it was only foreshadowing whats to come.
Things started to get more serious when the Liberal government approved the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The Trans Mountain pipeline is poised to carve a path straight through the Liberal rhetoric on climate change, and undermine every word that spilled out of Trudeau’s mouth about protecting future generations.
Nothing could have prepared us for the big fish: the SNC-Lavalin scandal was a disaster for public confidence in our prime minister. A private corporation lobbying the government to change the law in their favour so that they could escape conviction was and is an international scandal. But to also pressure and demote your attorney general and then lead a coverup inside your own cabinet demonstrates a profound lack of respect for the political process and the rule of law. In fact, according to the ethics commissioner, the sitting prime minister had broken the law. At least things couldn’t get any worse, right?
We soon learned that the prime minister was “two-faced” in more ways than one.
So, where do we go from here? Justin Trudeau has been involved in scandal after scandal, while Andrew Scheer, the Conservative party leader, is climbing in the polls. Scheer, the leader who pinky promises that his personal opinions about gay people won’t inform his policy decisions.
So what do we do?
The truth is, most people like how the Liberals brand themselves, but in practice they don’t like watching their feminist darling sell war machines to Saudi Arabia. So, perhaps it’s time to wake up to the fact that Liberals campaign themselves as New Democrats and govern themselves as Conservatives, especially when they know no one is looking.
This election, it’s time we build our image of the Liberal party based on actions and not on words. We should recognise that the policies the Liberals win on are the actual policies of the NDPs and the policies they sneak in behind our backs are Conservative.
And, we must keep in mind that when Canadians don’t have the appetite for a scandal-ridden Liberal, voting Conservative is a counterproductive exercise in masochism (see Doug Ford). When your sheep start to bite, you don’t start shearing wolves.
This election has only just begun, so now is the time to get to know your candidates and evaluate them based on what they offer you as a citizen. Take nothing at face value, and remember that these people may not be exactly what you expected. But if you give it time, I’m sure they will all reveal their true colours to you.
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The Campus Store will no longer be selling single-use plastic bags in an effort to make McMaster University more sustainable.
According to Donna Shapiro, the campus store director, the store was selling over 20,000 plastic or tote bags each year.
“We look at the waste on campus and we look at the plastic bags. Those bags are heavy duty plastic bags. We’re not talking about Walmart plastic bags, because they have to hold textbooks,” said Shapiro.
The Campus Store has previously taken measures to reduce the environmental impact of bag sales in the past, charging 15 cents per plastic bag. While the initiative failed to reduce plastic bag sales, it prompted the store to look into other more sustainable alternatives.
Louise Walker, the sales floor manager at the Campus Store, said it took their team a long time to evaluate alternatives such as paper or compostable bags. Each time they pursued an option in hopes that it would pose a solution, she said, they realized that it was much worse than plastic.
Eventually, she reached out to the university and got into contact with Kate Whalen. Whalen is the former developer and manager of McMaster’s office of sustainability as well as the current senior manager of academic sustainability programs at the university.
While many at the Campus Store supported the elimination of single-use plastic bags, they also considered student needs.
“I think my biggest concern was that the thought of a customer coming here and not being able to put their items in [a bag]. So Kate [Whalen] helped us think about the donation bin, where we could take donation plastic bags,” explained Shapiro.
The donation bin encourages shoppers to bring their own bag. If customers do not have their own bags, they can reuse a donated plastic bag or purchase a water resistant tote bag for 75 cents.
“The goal is not to sell the bag — the goal is for students to bring a backpack, their own recyclable bag or to carry it in their hands,” emphasized Walker.
The campaign, called “Maroon is the New Green,” launched on Aug. 24. The initiative is the first of many steps the Campus Store intends to take to make McMaster more sustainable, according to Walker.
“We’re looking at changing a mindset. People are used to bringing their bags to the grocery store but they’re not used to bringing their bags here,” said Walker.
The Campus Store’s remaining plastic bags, as well as bags donated by the store’s staff have been filtered into the donation box.
The store’s green team, a group of staff interested in supporting more sustainable practices, is now working closely with a group of students in the SUSTAIN 3S03 course to raise awareness of the campaign and continue to help the store look at greener alternatives.
The Campus Store is already looking at what reusability could look like in the future. They are working with student groups to create more sustainable products, such as washable cutlery sets and stainless steel straws.
“It fulfills two things: it’s a student entrepreneur we will be supporting, but also they are reusable materials,” said Shapiro.
She added that the Campus Store is always open to feedback about how they are able to improve a process. Students are encouraged to provide feedback to the Campus Store regarding their green initiatives at campusstore@mcmaster.ca.
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After a summer of labour negotiations with McMaster University, the union representing McMaster teaching and research assistants has declared a strike vote for the end of the month.
Since June, the Canadian Union of Public Employees 3906 has been negotiating the collective agreements governing academic workers at McMaster University. Last Wednesday, the unit representing teaching assistants and research assistants announced that they had reached an impasse, opting to file for conciliation and declaring a strike vote for the end of the month.
Collective Bargaining
In June, CUPE 3906 met with McMaster’s bargaining committee. Each party proposed changes to the collective agreement governing teaching assistants, research assistants in-lieu and all other university employees represented under CUPE 3906 Unit One.
According to Gord Arbeau, director of communications at McMaster, the University does not publicly discuss the content of ongoing labour negotiations. However, he stated that they aim to reach fair agreements with their employees.
“The goal is to reach a fair and equitable agreement with our bargaining partners that represents the important work that the members of that unit perform,” said Arbeau.
CUPE 3906 presented a list of priorities including increased funding, improved mental and physical health support, increased paid training, better representation for Indigenous members and improved working conditions.
They reported that the university had been receptive on several issues including pregnancy leave and labour/management relations.
However, CUPE 3906 stated that they had not reached agreements on their proposals for tuition waivers, paid pedagogical and anti oppression training, increase of minimum hours and restrictions on contract or volunteer work.
CUPE 3906 also reported problems with the University’s proposed compensation package. According to a bulletin released following the meeting, the University was bargaining within the mandate of a new provincial bill that limits compensation increases.
What is Bill 124 and why does it matter?
Bill 124, also known as the “Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act,” would place restrictions on the agreements that unions and employers can make with one another.
During collective bargaining, employers and employees negotiate compensation and salary increases. Usually, collective agreements mandate annual wage increases in order to keep up with the rate of inflation. As of this month, yearly inflation in Ontario sits at 2.1 per cent.
However, Bill 124 proposes that compensation and wage increases for public service workers cannot increase more than one per cent each year.
According to Ontario Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy, “the legislation would allow for reasonable wage increases, while protecting the province's front-line services, restoring the province's financial position and respecting taxpayer dollars.”
CUPE 3906 has criticized the bill for restricting workers’ rights to free collective bargaining. If passed, the bill would empower the provincial government to nullify collective agreements that do not abide by the one per cent wage cap. In practice, this means that the government could require parties to restart the bargaining process if their agreement does not align with the provisions in Bill 124.
The provincial government would also be empowered to retroactively veto collective agreements made after June 5.
“If the Ontario government has the power to unilaterally overrule agreements made between workers and their employers — and to interfere with the ability of workers to freely and democratically negotiate the wages, benefits, and working conditions in their workplace — then the right to collectively bargain is severely undermined,” says an article from Canadian labour news website rankandfile.ca.
Furthermore, CUPE has stated that the proposed wage cap would cause substantial harm to the livelihoods of public service workers, since the annual rate of inflation surpasses the one per cent wage cap.
At an emergency meeting following the announcement of Bill 124, CUPE 3906 members expressed concern over what this could mean for McMaster employees living in Hamilton, where the costs of living have increased significantly in recent years. According to a 2018 report from the Hamilton Housing Foundation, the average cost of rent in Hamilton has increased at double the rate of inflation since 2012.
“Anything that's below the level of inflation is a cut and phrasing it as a one per cent increase is just a willful misinterpretation of the facts … It's part of fragmenting the social services we're relying on, and the people it'll affect the most are people who are already marginalized,” said Julia Pyryeskina, a volunteer with CUPE 3906.
While Bill 124 is not yet legally binding, the university is committed to bargaining within the limits of the proposed legislation.
“The province has been clear with the broader public sector about its intentions ... we're part of the broader public service and we'll make sure that we'll work to be aligned with the intent of the legislation and the intent of the province,” stated Arbeau.
CUPE’s stance is that, since the bill is not yet law, McMaster should be negotiating a fair deal outside the parameters of the proposed legislation.
“We've asked the university to partner with us against Bill 124 … they have the opportunity to stand with us and bargain a fair deal and work with us against Bill 124 and they've denied to take that chance,” said Nathan Todd, CUPE 3906 president.
At an Impasse
After meeting again with the university’s bargaining committee on Aug. 21 and 22, CUPE 3906 reported that they had come to a standstill, in large part because they were unable to reach consensus on whether to bargain within the confines of Bill 124.
They also reported that the university had refused to entertain CUPE 3906’s proposal to entertain the 1 per cent wage cap in exchange for movement on proposed measures such as paid training and tuition freezes.
On Sept. 4, CUPE 3906 released a statement announcing that they had filed for conciliation, requiring a neutral third party from the Ministry of Labour to assist with negotiations.
They also announced plans to hold a strike vote at the end of the month, at which point CUPE’s membership will decide whether to give the bargaining team the power to call a strike. A positive vote does not immediately trigger a strike, but instead empowers the bargaining team to authorize a strike if they are unsatisfied with the deal that the university offers.
According to the statement, the ability to go on strike is a powerful tool when entering into conciliation, since the possibility of a strike indicates that failure to come to a compromise will yield serious consequences for the university.
Angie Perez, former CUPE president, says a strike is nobody’s first choice. However, she adds, it may be necessary.
“...No one wants a strike, it's horrible for the union, it's horrible for everybody … But if that's the only way we're going to be listened to, and it's the only way that we are going to have a real deal … that is not going to be hurting us and other people, we are not asking for unreasonable things,” Perez said.
CUPE is appealing to the McMaster community for support while they prepare for a strike vote.
“In order to avoid a strike, we must convince the University to meet us halfway. If they refuse to offer pay and benefits increases that keep up with inflation, they must offer enhanced job security, protections against future tuition increases, and opportunities for more paid hours to keep TAs and RAs-in-lieu from falling even further behind,” says a statement on the CUPE website.
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By: Elizabeth DiEmanuele
The Student Success Centre and Graduate Studies have introduced new positions for 2019-2020 to support the academic, personal and professional success of international students.
“Enhancing the experience and academic success of our international students is a shared responsibility, which is why we are excited about creating a campus-wide support network around our students,” says Gina Robinson, assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of the Student Success Centre. “We want international students to know that we all care about their individual needs and are working together to get them to the right services on campus.”
Ana Pereira has supported McMaster’s international students for eight years. In this role, she helps students adjust to their new lives at McMaster and in Canada through transitional services, personal development and the International Student Buddy Program.
“Being an immigrant myself, I understand many of the challenges facing students and love helping them feel comfortable in this new place they now call ‘home’,” Ana says.
Francesca Hernandez joins the team in this role and will focus on establishing campus-wide partnerships that can support and contribute to the development and success of international graduate students.
“We want to ensure that the academic, social and cultural needs of international graduate students are met through new programming and engagement opportunities,” Francesca says.
“We also want to expand promotion of existing programs and services so that students and their families are aware of supports offered by McMaster and the broader community. We want them to enjoy a successful journey in their new country.”
In addition to programs and services, one-on-ones are also available. Andrew Staples, student success coach, will support both graduate and international students with their academic concerns, financial difficulties, transition, and navigation of university life. This position will support students on an individual basis and provide a more seamless support system.
Andrew shares, “We want to make sure students feel supported and welcomed during their time at McMaster, so we are encouraging students to ask questions and share any concerns they may be experiencing.”
Lajipe Sanwoolu, immigration and mobility advisor, can provide immigration consulting from both an inbound and outbound perspective, including international and domestic students who are interested in working in Canada or abroad.
“International students contribute greatly to our community,” says Lajipe. “It is important and beneficial that we continue to provide them with opportunities to contribute and develop themselves.”
International students provide an invaluable knowledge and perspective, both in and outside of the classroom. Lajipe’s role will support developing relationships between international students and employers, providing education about international hiring and dispelling hiring misconceptions.
Appointments with Andrew Staples and Lajipe Sanwoolu are bookable through OSCARplus.
For those interested in collaborating on initiatives to support international student success, email iss@mcmaster.ca.
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