National President Paul Moist gave the global justice committee a glimpse into what life is like for working people in Colombia when he attended the committee’s national meeting in Ottawa on Sept. 28.
Moist was reporting on the public sector leadership tour of the South American country in July and their finding that free trade was precisely what working people did not need from Canada.
The committee also participated in a panel discussion on Colombia. The panel included Sheila Katz from the Canadian Labour Congress’s international department, Louise Casselman, executive director of the Social Justice Fund at the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Barbara Wood, executive director of CoDevelopment Canada. All of them specialize in Colombia and have frequently visited there.
Several committee members reported on their province’s participation in the Maria Fernanda Bolanos visit from Colombia to Canada in July and August. The committee recommended that CUPE take several steps to continue assisting trade unions in Colombia.
It also discussed a dozen potential new projects, began preparations for division and national conventions, and welcomed new international solidarity senior officer Rhonda Spence. She replaces Ron Verzuh who recently retired.