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Hello SEIU!

Thank you, Sharleen [Stewart].

Thank you, April [Verrett]. And congratulations on being elected the new International President of this great union. This is historic for trade unionists to see a young Black woman lead this new era of worker power. 

Delegates, members – thank you for the invitation but most of all thank you for your hard work and your relentless advocacy.

I also want to give a big shout-out the outgoing international president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Mary Kay Henry.

And are there any Canadians in the room today?

Big shout-out to the Canadian local leaders as well:

Sharleen Stewart, of course –

Sylvie Nelson –

Cristina Cabral –

Dave Bridger –

Barb Cape –

I do want to thank all of you, all the leaders in this room today. 

Day in and day out, you stand up for your members, and by doing so, you also create standards that others across our countries can look up to.

We know this union has the backs of millions of hardworking families. I’m here to say that we will be there for you. 

To all the delegates and representatives:

Thank you for the work you do to defend your members. 

You fight every day for better conditions. 

I want to tell you that your efforts genuinely count. 

You may know that in Canada, labour is spelt L-A-B-O-U-R.

Some of you may think it’s because of the French influence, but that’s not it. Others may think it’s because we use the British spelling, that’s a little closer to the truth.

But I like to say that it’s because in Canada we can’t spell labour without the U which stands for Unions.

It’s great to be in Philadelphia, a city of such historical significance.

As you all know, Philly is where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4^th, 1776.

It is home to the Liberty Bell, which rang in a new nation at that time.

Whether it’s here in the U.S. or in Canada, we’ve made a lot of progress since the inception of our democracies. 

Progress on freedom for everyone, progress on economies that include more people, and progress on civil rights and workers’ rights. 

In 1835, the first general strike in North America happened here in Philadelphia. 

At the time, workers had organized because they believed that the length of a workday should be fixed. 

It shouldn’t be based simply on the sun rising and setting. 

So they fought for and won a 10-hour workday. 

By the way, for those who don’t know this, I was once a high school teacher, so you’re going to get a few historical facts.   

But my point is this: the fight for progress has been long and it must never stop.

It’s like paddling a canoe upriver; you’ve got to keep moving and digging in and steering, or the current will push you right back. 

The world is in a very difficult place right now and it’s understandable that people say they want change.

But like all moments in history, the question can’t simply be about whether people want change or not, it’s what kind of change they want. 

My job in Canada, as a progressive leader, is to make the case for how to meet this challenging geopolitical moment; to face our shared headwinds in a way that will actually help workers, families, and vulnerable people. 

So what does this look like? 

Let me start with workers’ rights. 

To overcome the challenges we’re facing today, we need to work together. 

And another thing we did together in Canada was to make sure people can retire and get their Old Age Security pension at age 65 as opposed to age 67. 

For federally regulated workers, we brought in 10 days of paid sick leave.

And last fall, we brought in historic anti-scab legislation to ban replacement workers!

Banning replacement workers is about free and fair bargaining.

Because you can’t have one hand tied behind your back as you go to the negotiating table.

Strong unions mean strong paychecks and strong communities, and that’s what we can always agree on. 

Another example of our work in partnership with labour is the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the new NAFTA.

When we renegotiated the agreement with the U.S. and Mexico, we advocated vigorously for labour, resulting in all parties agreeing to strengthen union protections for workers.

Now when Canada first proposed these labour protections, some people mocked us. 

They said a trade agreement isn't the place to talk about labour and workers. 

Well, we fought for it and now it's in the agreement.

We included commitments to ensure the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.  

And we included the elimination of child labour, and new provisions that prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced labour. 

This is all positive change. 

But we need to keep fighting. 

Not only do we need to keep fighting to protect the progress we’ve made, we need to go even further. 

SEIU wants workers to get their fair share. 

Service workers, security officers, educators, janitors: you work hard, and you deserve your fair share.

How many of you here are healthcare workers? 

I know people don’t really like to talk about the pandemic anymore, but I want to let you know that we haven’t forgotten your sacrifices. 

As a society, we owe you a lot. 

Just earlier, you heard parts of my conversation with Sophia, a dietary aid in the Greater Toronto Area. 

Sophia is a single mom who works two jobs to try to make ends meet.

During the pandemic, she worked for many months straight, without a day off, because they were short-staffed. 

One of the reasons she made it through, she says, is because of the support of her union, the support of SEIU.  

She asked me to stick together with unions.

So, to Sophia and to everyone in this room: I want you to know that you are not alone in this fight! We will stand with you!

We know that better conditions of work lead to better conditions of care. 

It's not enough to just say that you were heroes, we have to make sure we treat you with the respect you deserve every single day. 

This means increasing your hourly wages and making sure you can work in dignified conditions, and mostly, that you have the resources, support, and ability to help people with high-quality care, which is why you chose to be healthcare worker in the first place.

In Canada, we’ve made major investments towards living wages and dignified retirements, and our work isn’t done yet. 

Working with provinces and territories, our goal is $25 an hour as a starting point for personal support workers, along with the means to save for retirement. 

That’s where we’re going together. 

Fighting for better working conditions for people like Sophia is one of the many battles for progress.

On top of this, we have to keep bringing forward measures to support the middle class and people working hard to join it.

Last month, the federal government released a federal Budget focused on fairness for every generation. 

Right now, younger generations like Millennials and Gen Z are worried that they won’t have a life that looks like how they grew up, like what their parents and grandparents had.

Young adults are stuck living with their parents for longer than before. 

Or they have to have roommates for a longer period because rents are so high. 

We need to change that. 

And this is exactly what we’re doing in Canada with historic investments in housing.

We have a plan to build almost 4 million homes in the coming years, with an emphasis on non-profit affordable housing and rentals.

Fairness is also the principle that guides investments in our publicly funded, universal healthcare system.

In Canada, we made the choice a long time ago that you shouldn’t have to max-out your credit cards to get a much-needed surgery.

We’re working hard to make sure our healthcare system delivers results for people. 

We’re hiring more doctors and nurses.

We’re collaborating with Indigenous communities on their specific needs. 

We’re enhancing access to mental health care and addictions services for everyone.

We’re improving access to diabetes medication. 

Because even in Canada, insulin can cost more than what people can afford.

If you know somebody who’s diabetic, then you know the dangers that result if they can’t afford the insulin they need. 

So we’re going to make insulin-free for Canadians who need it.  

Another choice we’ve made to help families is to create a national school food program that will increase by 40% the number of students across the country who will get the healthy, nutritious support they need. 

And of course, we’re very enthusiastic about the progress we’re making on childcare.  

We’re building a Canada-wide system that has cut childcare fees in half on the way to just $10 a day within two years. 

Hundreds of thousands of kids are already benefiting from affordable childcare, with some families saving over $14,000 per child per year.

Indeed, since we started rolling out our childcare program, we’ve heard thousands upon thousands of stories of mums who now have the freedom to choose the care arrangement that works best for their families. 

Choice means choosing among excellent options, not being forced to take decisions because of high costs, little access, and low quality.

In Canada, the participation of women in the workforce has now reached record highs. 

Which proves that childcare is not only a social policy, it’s an economic policy! 

Now, under the cloak of change, there are those who aim to exploit this period of uncertainty to roll back the progress we’ve all made. 

Workers’ rights are under threat, 2SLGBTQI+ rights are under threat, and so are women’s rights.

For the Government of Canada, there is no equivocation: women’s rights, reproductive rights, and equality are non-negotiable!

Being pro-choice means we believe that women should be free to choose if, when, and how they want to start a family.

This is why we protect abortion services right across our country.

This is why we’ve put forward a plan that puts freedom, choice, and rights front and centre, by making sure that all women have access to free prescription contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives.

This is everything but the status quo, my friends:

This is what real, lasting, positive change looks like. 

And this is a moment of uncertainty like we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. 

The rising cost of living has put real stress on families.

Many indicators show the economy is doing well, but people don’t care about these numbers if they can’t afford a home, or groceries. 

Climate change is having a real and terrifying impact on peoples’ lives. In Canada, we’re seeing it firsthand with another wildfire season already upon us. 

There are many conflicts around the world. 

Authoritarianism is on the rise. 

All around us, we see more and more polarization.

You see daily reminders of this tension in your workplaces with the need for signs that read “disrespectful and abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.”

In this moment of turbulence, it’s important to strengthen and deepen our relationships with likeminded friends and allies. 

That’s what your organization does every day.

SEIU members from Canada and the U.S. work together to make our communities stronger on both sides of the border. 

The relationship that you share in this room is just like the relationship we share between our two countries.

Canada and the U.S. have one of the closest and most extensive relationships in the world.

As exemplified by us, here today, this is just 1 of over 25 bi-national unions we share between our two countries, an arrangement neither of us have with any other country in the world. 

Our partnership is forged by shared geography, values, common interests, strong people-to-people connections, and powerful, multi-layered economic ties.

At this moment of global crises and deep uncertainty, Canada and the United States know that we can count on each other.

Today, more than ever, we should remind ourselves of how priceless a partnership like ours is. We must never take for granted the peace, the stability, and the enduring friendship that characterize the Canada-U.S. relationship.

In 2023, trade between Canada and the U.S. amounted to $1.3 trillion. 

This means over three and a half billion dollars worth of goods and services crossing the Canada-U.S. border every day.

NAFTA (now CUSMA) created the largest free trade region in the world, and it’s helping raise the standard of living for our three member countries.

Roughly 80% of Canadian goods exported to the U.S. are incorporated into U.S. supply chains.

Here, the state of Pennsylvania exports more to Canada than to its next four largest foreign markets combined. 

This all supports millions of jobs in our two countries. 

And when the economy is strong in our two countries, it benefits the 2 million members of SEIU. 

So let’s keep working together: governments, businesses, and labour unions. 

Let’s create jobs while we fight climate change at the same time.

Let’s make sure our economies are fair for everyone, and for every generation. 

Let’s focus on solutions that support the middle class and people working hard to join it.

Let’s work together toward positive and progressive change.

Since the very beginning of our democracies, progress didn’t happen by accident and it certainly won’t continue without effort.

We must and we will meet this moment.

And we will do it together.

Thank you.