Tag: canada day

Sisters and brothers across Canada,

On behalf of the SMART General Executive Council, I want to wish all our Canadian members and their families a very happy Canada Day!

As you celebrate Canada’s rich history, diverse cultures and the spectacular landscapes that span across coasts, it is also a moment to recognize and celebrate you, the individuals who make Canada the prosperous nation it is today. The hardworking members of SMART across Canada exemplify service, dedication and solidarity, helping to build a stronger, more reliable future for all.

This Canada Day, we also celebrate a future rooted in sustainable growth powered by skilled sheet metal workers and roofers. From the installation of green roofing systems to energy-efficient air systems and sustainable technologies, our members are leading the way in upgrading buildings, improving indoor air quality and constructing better communities. Together, we’re helping to build a cleaner economy and preserve Canada’s great outdoors for future generations.

As we celebrate Canada Day, I hope we are also reminded of the strength we find in our numbers, of the progress we achieve through our solidarity and the bright future we are building together.

Thank you for the work you do every day to uphold our shared values and advance our mission. From all of us at SMART, across Canada and the United States, we stand with you, today and every day.

Happy Canada Day. Enjoy the holiday, and please stay safe!

In solidarity,

Michael Coleman

General President, SMART

Brothers and sisters across Canada,

Happy Canada Day from myself and the SMART General Executive Council. Wherever you are today, in cities and towns across the provinces and territories, I hope you can take the time to relax with friends and family.

Canada Day commemorates the day of Canada’s Confederation in 1867. And since that day — even before it — unionists in the labour movement have been bravely organizing, striving to lift the working and living conditions of all Canadians.

Union sheet metal workers and roofers have been an integral part of the nation’s progress throughout its history. And today, SMART Canada members have just as vital a role to play, whether building the green-energy economy of our sustainable future or helping bring new members into our trades.

The Government of Canada has set its sights on achieving a net-zero-emissions society by 2050. It’s an ambitious and important goal, and it’s one that you — sheet metal workers and roofers — are going to make happen. Whether installing green roofs that help reduce carbon emissions or improving the energy efficiency of building envelopes in schools, office buildings and new housing, our members will be critical to the Canada of tomorrow.

We are already seeing the benefits of a worker-first green transition, such as the NextStar EV battery plant project in southwestern Ontario. I’m proud to say that SMART Canada is seizing on these opportunities to lift more families into the better life that we provide: recruiting new members, organizing nonunion workers and spreading the word far and wide about careers in our trades. As I mentioned earlier, Canada’s rich history is intertwined with the story of the union movement. Our bright future will be as well, and it is incumbent on all of us to be organizers; to help our fellow workers achieve the freedom and dignity of a union career, and to welcome every single person — no matter who they are — into our union.

Lastly, as you celebrate Canada Day with loved ones, I hope you’ll join me in honouring the generations of Canadians who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and democracy.

Happy Canada Day. Enjoy the holiday, and please stay safe!

Brothers and Sisters,

On behalf of myself and the SMART General Executive Council, I’d like to wish all our Canadian brothers and sisters, and your families, a happy Canada Day.

Canada Day commemorates the day of Canada’s Confederation in 1867 – and this year, the holiday arrives on the back of major progress for our union.

On March 28, the Government of Canada released the 2023 Federal Budget, which included strong investments to build Canada’s green economy, as well as one of the strongest definitions of prevailing wage in Canadian history. By tying incentives for tax credits to a prevailing wage that incorporates union compensation, including benefits and pension contributions, this Federal Budget will raise workers’ living standards and create good-paying, middle-class jobs as we build our green energy future.

The federal government continues to invest in the Union Training Innovation Program, which provides new funding streams for our local unions and training centers. And Canada’s net-zero goal, which requires the retrofitting of all buildings across our country, will put sheet metal workers and roofers on jobs for years to come.

These are huge victories that could not have been won without the perseverance and advocacy of our Canadian members. But we still have much to achieve.

Canada’s green energy goals will create a workforce demand that will require our union to grow. In order to do so, we must collaborate with the government to bring more workers into the skilled trades; organize in municipalities and provinces across our nation; and make sure we are present in every community, ready to lift Canadians of all backgrounds into a union career.

Workers in every industry and sector are fighting for better treatment and working conditions, and we all have a role to play in helping those workers achieve the freedom and dignity of a union career. That includes our Indigenous brothers and sisters, women, people of color and other communities that have been marginalized throughout Canada’s history. When we build a labour movement that is inclusive and welcoming of all Canadian workers, we will be truly unstoppable.

Finally, as you celebrate Canada Day with loved ones, I want to encourage all of us to honour the generations of Canadians who have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and democracy.

Happy Canada Day – enjoy the holiday, and please stay safe.