On October 7-8, more than 25 USJE Local representatives came together in Truro, NS to deepen their understanding of USJE and to strengthen their knowledge of union activism.
The day began with a Land Acknowledgement which was followed by a wide ranging and rousing speech by USJE National President, David Neufeld. President Neufeld began his remarks by acknowledging the commitment of all participants and the key work of the three Atlantic Region USJE Regional Vice Presidents: Lynette Robinson (who also serves as USJE National Vice-President), Carol Osborne and Laurie Ann Wesselby.
Among other things, President Neufeld outlined crucial issues facing USJE members, such as the upcoming Comprehensive Expenditure Review that will require departments to reduce spending by up to 15% over three years. President Neufeld spoke passionately of USJE’s strong response to this and to all challenges facing our members.
In a Q & A session, members asked for more information about what was being done to fight the cuts. President Neufeld spoke about USJE’s National Mobilization Plan which has been in action since the beginning of the year. In fact, every USJE Regional Conference will include a Rally as part of this mobilization plan.
During the lunch break, members made their way to local Member of Parliament’s office, Alana Hirtle, to voice USJE’s concerns on the government’s Comprehensive Expenditure Review.
Participants also enjoyed a wide range of informative and skill-building sessions including reports by each of the USJE Directors and training on Workforce Adjustment, how to take a good photo and video, Convention preparation, and on understanding Workplace Violence and Harassment. In addition, participants took part in an interactive trivia on Equity.
To cap off the Conference, participants were invited to a Couch Talk with their respective Regional Vice-President.
During the Conference, USJE member Caroline Morais-Gregan was acknowledged by Easson Haskin and Anissa Macleod of the Joint Learning Program (JLP), for her impressive feat of offering over 25 JLP sessions to date! Congratulations, Caroline!
Overall, USJE Atlantic Regional participants networked, learned and laughed together – and agreed that the USJE Atlantic Regional Conference 2025 was a Conference to remember!
USJE’s next Regional Conferences will take place in Kingston, Ontario (Oct. 15 – 16), Vancouver, BC (Oct. 28-29), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, (Nov. 4-5) and Quebec City, Quebec (Nov. 18-19).