[Updated April 27, 2023]
Striking public servants block access to government buildings and key infrastructure | CP24 - Cindy Tran & Laura Osman, Canadian Press:
April 25, 2023 - "Federal ministers said Tuesday they are monitoring for blockades of critical roads and infrastructure as striking federal workers ... ramp[ed] up their picket efforts by disrupting traffic and limiting access to office buildings in downtown Ottawa. More than 150,000 federal public servants with the Public Service Alliance of Canada were on strike for the seventh straight day as their union representatives continued to negotiate with the government for a bigger wage increase and more flexibility to work remotely.
"Around the National Capital Region, hundreds of striking workers made their presence felt and heard, circling buildings, chanting through megaphones and blasting music throughout the morning. Hundreds of public servants marched across the Portage Bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., where some of the biggest federal buildings are located, holding up traffic for a short period Tuesday morning. Outside the Prime Minister's Office building and the Treasury Board headquarters a few blocks away, strikers limited entry to just one person every five minutes.
"The escalation in the strike activity comes after a promise by union president Chris Aylward that picket lines would move to more 'strategic locations,' including ports of entry where the strike would have a greater economic impact. PSAC said on Monday they 'shut down' the ports in Montreal, Vancouver and St. John's.
"Federal ministers meeting in Ottawa for the "weekly cabinet meeting said they were keeping an eye out for blockades at critical infrastructure.... Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said he has been in contact with ports and airports to make sure they have contingency plans in place....
"Federal and provincial governments are more aware than ever about how vulnerable and critical major roadways and ports of entry are after last year's 'Freedom Convoy,' said Ambarish Chandra, an associate professor of economics at the University of Toronto. Demonstrators took over major roads in downtown Ottawa for three weeks and blockaded several border crossings for days in February 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and the federal government. The protest precipitated the first use of the federal Emergencies Act.... [F]ederal workers' decision to target points of critical infrastructure could inspire copycat events, said Chandra.."
April 25, 2023 - "The Public Service Alliance of Canada’s strike continues, and has escalated into blocks of government buildings and other infrastructure. Union president Chris Aylward even said striking public servants may go to ports of entry to maximize the economic impact.... In spite of this, no one in the federal government is talking about [using] the Emergencies Act, True North’s Andrew Lawton points out. Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano joins to talk about the latest strike news."
Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/04/25/alshow-public-servants-strike/
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