TSX’s lone IPO this year seen as encouraging

A single stock issue in June by a company new to the TSX was the first initial public offering (IPO) since mid-2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers said Tuesday. The $500 million IPO by […]

Read more »

Long EI waits leave Albertans struggling: Hundreds turn to welfare system

CALGARY- When Heather Eide applied for employment insurance, she didn’t expect she’d have to wait more than two months. At 23, she had never been laid off before. She was […]

Read more »

Make new pension plan mandatory: Union

Canadians desperately need a mandatory pension program to ensure they don’t retire into poverty, but a supplementary pension plan being considered by the Alberta and British Columbia governments is a […]

Read more »

Albertans need mandatory pension plan: AFL

EDMONTON – Albertans desperately need a mandatory pension program to ensure they don’t retire into poverty, but a supplementary pension plan being considered by the Alberta and British Columbia governments […]

Read more »

Good for the goose, not for the gander: Critics charge bias, hypocrisy in new rules on municipal elections

Municipal elections in Alberta may become more transparent with the passage of a provincial bill which restricts the amount of money candidates at the local level will be allowed to […]

Read more »

Labour group worried about oilsands jobs seeping out of Alberta

CALGARY – It used to be a foregone conclusion that the gigantic shovel-and-dumptruck operations in the oilsands would go hand-in-hand with an upgrader – a multibillion dollar facility to turn […]

Read more »

Labour federation warns jobs will head south

Though some herald the job creation resulting from Imperial Oil’s decision to go ahead with its Kearl project, the Alberta Federation of Labour warns the long-term benefits will be shipped […]

Read more »

AFL fears Kearl will send Alberta jobs to U.S.

EDMONTON – The Alberta Federation of Labour is worried Imperial’s $8-billion Kearl Lake oilsands project will send most of the bitumen – and good jobs – to the U.S. once […]

Read more »

Oil jobs being sent south, charge critics

The provincial government is content to see oilpatch jobs shipped to the U.S., charges the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. Gil McGowan made that charge yesterday in the […]

Read more »

Imperial gives Kearl project green light: Battered oil sands industry welcomes decision to proceed with mine’s $8-billion Phase 1

Imperial Oil Ltd.’s (IMO-T42.09-0.14-0.33%) approval of a major new $8-billion project is sparking optimism for a revival in the oil sands after months of project delays due to low crude […]

Read more »

Imperial saved up to $1 billion by holding off on Kearl decision

CALGARY – Holding off on approving construction on the Kearl oilsands mine until Alberta´s overheated market cooled off saved Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO) as much as $1 billion, the company´s […]

Read more »

AFL wants oil sands jobs to stay in Alberta

The Alberta Federation of Labor sees the Kearl oil sands project as a pipeline for shipping jobs to the United States. Construction of the mega project northeast of Fort McMurray […]

Read more »

Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program under review

In recent years, Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has been opened up to make it easier for Canadian employers to hire foreign workers to fill labour shortages in their […]

Read more »

Sitting on Kearl project announcement saved Imperial Oil more than $500 million

CALGARY – Waiting nearly a year to announce formal approval of the Kearl oilsands mining project saved Imperial Oil Ltd. between $500 million and $1 billion in capital costs, chairman […]

Read more »

Harper refuses to ease EI rules: Opposition demands called an ‘absurdity’

In the face of steep job losses and a battering recession, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday his government won’t ease eligibility rules for unemployment benefits. Harper, who was in […]

Read more »

Alberta prepares to launch new safety code in July 2009

A new Alberta safety code is coming into effect in July after a lengthy public consultation process. “Our members are supportive of the changes to legislation that improve safety, but […]

Read more »

A Green Economy to Lift Recession Blues

Alberta has the capacity to create over 20,000 jobs in the short run, and tens of thousands more long term by shifting its focus to a green economy, according to […]

Read more »

Alberta’s left wing discusses alliance: Liberal MLA meeting with other opponents of Tories

Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann has been quietly meeting with MLAs and other interested people about starting a new party based on green politics, accountability and democratic reform. Swann’s work, […]

Read more »

Environmental groups and AFL release groundbreaking Green Jobs report

Edmonton – Alberta can create more than 200,000 long-term green jobs and build a strong economic future, according to a groundbreaking report on green jobs released by two prominent environmental […]

Read more »

Temporary Workers, Continuing Problems: Longtime labour lawyer Yessy Byl decries foreign worker policy as outright racism

When Yessy Byl arrived in Canada from the Netherlands, she was just a toddler. Her father found work as a bush pilot, bringing his family with him around the country […]

Read more »

Foreign workers plead for better conditions, citizenship: Alberta Federation of Labour claims people exploited, denied rights, then discarded

When Manuel came to Canada two years ago as a temporary foreign worker, the 35-year-old figured his family had landed a ticket out of El Salvador. “When I came here, […]

Read more »

Workers gather to remember fallen comrades in Alberta and B.C.

The construction industry accounted for the highest number of work related deaths in B.C. and Alberta last year. The fact was brought to light as workers across the nation commemorated […]

Read more »

Workplace deaths hit 26-year high in Alberta: Fatalities took biggest toll on older men

Older, male workers and employees in the construction industry accounted for the largest number of workplace deaths in Alberta in 2008 — with total work fatalities reaching a 26-year high […]

Read more »

Raft of charges laid in Alberta oilsands deaths

The death of two foreign workers from China at a sprawling oilsands project in northern Alberta has led to the most charges ever laid in a single workplace accident in […]

Read more »