Union Safety Net Podcast

In this episode of the Union Safety Net, we take a closer look at the role of a public broadcaster. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known as the CBC and Radio-Canada for our francophone listeners, is a Crown corporation that serves as Canada’s national public broadcaster. CBC has been in existence since 1936 and its mission is to ‘promote Canadian culture and support democratic life through a wide range of content that informs, enlightens and entertains.’ To discuss the role and importance of a public broadcaster, we’re joined by Sarah Andrews, who’s based out of Montreal and represents Friends of Canadian Media. Please note that we did extend an invitation to Rachael Thomas, Conservative Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage and MP for Lethbridge, to hear her perspective, but they declined our invitation to participate.

On this episode of the Union Safety Net, we’re taking a closer look at Alberta’s relationship with the RCMP. In May 2025, the province passed Bill 49, which establishes the framework for a Provincial Police Force, thereby enabling municipalities to potentially transition away from the RCMP and contract with the province for policing services.

Summer kids’ camps typically focus on sports or the arts. However, in New Brunswick, there is a unique camp for teenagers that focuses on union education.  

Blair Doucet, the past president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour, believed that youth involvement was crucial to a strong Labour movement. He identified a need to expand teens’ understanding of unions, and created the camp two decades ago.  

The 20th edition of the Blair Doucet youth summer camp concluded on August 8^th, 2025.  

We spoke with Paula Doucet, daughter of Blair Doucet, and Adam Mallais, who attended the camp annually from 2013-2016 

It is estimated that approximately 20–45% of public safety personnel suffer from mental health injuries, including PTSD. This is a shocking statistic; however it highlights the impact of the exposure to traumatic experiences and materials and a fundamental need to help this group.

In this episode, we learn more about the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT) and the services they provide to public safety personnel and their families.

On May 1, International Workers Day, the Canada Revenue Agency announced that more than 1,000 term employees in contact centres across the country will not be renewed when their contracts expire on May 16. It begs the question – how will this impact services to Canadians? We sat down with Marc Brière, National President of the Union of Taxation Employees to find out what’s going on with our taxes.

In this episode, we sat down with two women union representatives and discussed a specific job classification: the CR Group, also known as the Clerical and Regulatory Classification. This job classification is predominantly represented by women who’s earning is below the poverty line.

With an escalating trade war instigated by President Trump, there has been a rallying cry to support Canadian products of all kinds. We chatted with Derek Johnstone from the United Food and Commercial Workers on how we can support Canadian products made by Canadian workers.

Howie West, formerly of PSAC, and Erin Sirett, Lead on WFA at PSAC, discuss about the Work Force Adjustment Appendix, or WFA, a mechanism enshrined in the collective agreement for many federal public service workers

This year, Canadians will be going to the polls and will decide who will represent them in the 45th Federal Parliament. Given the importance of this election, USJE has extended an invitation to the leaders of all federal parties in the House to discuss some of the issues that are top of mind for USJE’s membership and Canadians more generally. On this episode, we spoke with Bloc Québécois Member of Parliament, Louise Chabot.

This year, Canadians will be going to the polls and will decide who will represent them in the 45th Federal Parliament. Given the importance of this election, USJE has extended an invitation to the leaders of all federal parties in the House to discuss some of the issues that are top of mind for USJE’s membership and Canadians more generally. On this episode, we spoke with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

The Canadian Employment and Immigration Union is a fellow component union within the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and represents workers from several front-facing departments that deal with immigration, employment and public service—all crucial to Canadian society. Rubina Boucher, National President of the CEIU, talks to the Union Safety Net about the work of her members, workforce adjustments, remote work and service cuts.

Following Donald Trump’s accusations about the flow of migrants and fentanyl from Canada into the United States, the government of Canada announced a multitude of changes to border control and security costed at approximately $1.3 billion dollars. Changes include new helicopters at the border, migration controls, new money-laundering rules and a joint Canada-U.S. anti-fentanyl police task force. To discuss these new developments and how it will impact border security, we spoke with Mark Weber, National President of the Customs and Immigration Union, the union that represents Canada’s Front-Line Customs and Immigration Officers.

This past November, several Starbucks locations in Ontario unionized with the United Steelworkers. On this episode, we chat with Jaymi, a Starbucks employee who has been involved in this organizing drive. We discuss the misconceptions about what some consider “seasonal jobs,” and why unionizing makes sense.

Telework and hybrid work arrangements have become the subject of much debate in the post pandemic world. Return to office policies and mandates have workers feeling slighted by employers who seemingly overlook worker productivity. Dr. Linda Duxbury, a professor of management at Carleton University and a seasoned expert on work/life balance and remote work sat down with us to talk about the future of remote work in Canada.

Ever wondered what other union leaders are doing to engage with their local membership? We lead a discussion with four USJE local leaders from across Canada about their best practices for membership engagement.

USJE’s National Public Safety Awards recognize and celebrate the outstanding work of our members across the country. In this episode, we talk to two Award recipients from the 2024 Awards, Una Gair and Pierre-Luc Gilbert, about why they were chosen and what the Awards mean to them.

In this episode, we get to pick renowned economist Jim Stanford’s brain about the state of the Canadian economy, what can be learned from other countries, and how unions fit in nationally and internationally. Switching to a local, community lens, we then chat with Antonio Trujillo Villon of Turning Leaf Support Services, a Winnipeg-based organization that provides support to people living with mental illness and intellectual challenges, about how unions can help foster change at home.

We were delighted to sit down with PSAC’s newly elected executive leadership team–National President, Sharon DeSousa and National Executive Vice-President, Alex Silas–and chat about telework, bargaining, breaking barriers and more. This episode was recorded on June 14, 2024.

In celebration of Pride season, we talked to Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, and USJE RVP Shauna Ward about equity, equality and diversity in the Labour movement.

This episode focuses on the rise of labour disputes happening across Canada. We chatted with Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, and Professor Martin Petitclerc from L’Université du Québec à Montréal about striking workers and the changing labour landscape.

Further reading: 
GRÈVE ET PAIX
Une histoire des lois spéciales au Québec
Martin Petitclerc, Martin Robert

From worksite safety to the housing crisis: In this episode, we’re talking to NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice (en français) and USJE RVP Laurie Ann Wesselby (in English) about issues facing workers across Canada.

This episode was recorded before the Government of Alberta tabled Bill-11 on March 13, 2024.

This podcast episode mentions violent interactions that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. 

Guests David Neufeld, USJE National President, and Valda Behrens, USJE RVP, talk about the USJE members working as the invisible backbone of the RCMP: the importance of their work and institutional knowledge, occupational health and safety concerns facing these members, and campaigns to keep the RCMP in communities across Canada.

This podcast episode mentions violent interactions that some listeners may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. 

The first episode focuses on presumptive injury, with guests Dr. Rose Ricciardelli and USJE RVP Kirsty Havard. Learn about how common it is for public safety personnel to experience traumatic incidents at work, the research being done, and the changes we can make to better protect these workers.