Remembrance Day holiday popular: Poll; Shocking safety ad campaign in Alberta; More workers caring for seniors; CIBC faces another class-action suit
Remembrance Day holiday popular: Poll
Winnipeg — More than eight in 10 Canadians (86 per cent) think Remembrance Day should be a national holiday, according to a survey by Canada’s National History Society in Winnipeg. The survey found only 17 per cent of the 1,902 respondents know Remembrance Day was first instituted to mark the end of the First World War and only 20 per cent plan on attending a Remembrance Day event this year. More than 40 per cent of respondents say all three levels of government should do more to recognize and observe Remembrance Day.
Shocking safety ad campaign in Alberta
Edmonton — The Alberta government hopes a series of six graphic videos depicting gory workplace accidents will shock teenagers into thinking about workplace safety. Young people make up 17 per cent of Alberta’s workforce but account for almost one-quarter of disabled injury claims. The videos were originally deemed too graphic and shelved last year but, after focus groups with 15- to 19-year-olds, Alberta Employment decided the campaign, which includes videos, posters and online ads, needed to be realistic and edgy. For more information, visit www.bloodylucky.ca.
More workers caring for seniors
Ottawa — In 2007, about 2.7 million Canadians over 45 were caring for a senior, an increase of more than 670,000 from 2002, and many of them were women with jobs, according to Statistics Canada. Many people caring for seniors are balancing several responsibilities, including jobs and raising a family. About 43 per cent of caregivers were between 45 and 54 and most caregivers were working women with families.
CIBC faces another class-action suit
Toronto — Another class-action overtime lawsuit has been launched against CIBC, this time by white collar workers, including stock analysts, investment bankers and financial advisors. The Financial Post reported Michael Brown, a former senior analyst for CIBC World Markets, is the proposed lead plaintiff in the new $360-million suit. Brown claims his employment contract required him to work 40 to 45 hours per week but he had to put in 60 to 70 hours to do all the work required and was never paid overtime. The suit claims other employees had to work overtime to get their work done, yet they were never paid for that time. A teller launched a similar $600-million overtime class-action suit against the bank last June.
