National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People

On October 4th, CUPE Nova Scotia observes the National Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S). This day calls for urgent action in response to the disproportionate rates of violence, abduction and murder experienced by Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Canada, which are rooted in systemic racism, colonialism, and gender-based violence. To learn more about the National Inquiry into this ongoing tragedy, and the 231 Calls to Justice included in its Final Report, please click here. #MMIWG2S #NoMoreStolenSisters

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30th is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the survivors of the residential school system, the children who never returned home as well as their families and communities. This day of commemoration is a vital part of the reconciliation process on Turtle Island (Canada) as it deepens our collective awareness of colonialism and ensures ongoing reflection across Turtle Island for years to come. The CUPE Atlantic Maritime Indigenous Council (CAMIC) encourages all CUPE members to tie an orange ribbon or wear an orange shirt as a sign of respect to these Indigenous children and their families, and to support healing in Indigenous communities. For inquiries, please email: cupe.atl.mar.indigenous.council@gmail.com. In Solidarity, CAMIC members Brandice Blanchard, Vice-Chair for the CUPE Atlantic Maritime Indigenous Council  

Safe Staff, Safe Schools: A worker-led review of violence in Nova Scotia’s public schools

For any school support staff who have not yet read our report, we urge every member to take a look at Safe Staff, Safe Schools: A worker-led review of violence in Nova Scotia’s public schools. Violence in public school is at crisis level. The 2022-2023 school year saw 27,000 violent incidents in public schools across Nova Scotia. And we know that with barriers to reporting, a lack of support from management, and overworked staff, that number is likely even higher. If the last year saw similar numbers, increasing at a similar rate as the last few years, we can estimate well over 30,000 incidents in the 2023-24 year also. Why did we write this report? In 2022, we tried to sound the alarm to Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Becky Druhan and Tim Houston’s PC government about the crisis of violence in our schools. We shared our concerns … Read more…