City of Winnipeg weighs recommendation to let workers swap holidays
A recommendation to allow workers to swap holidays for another day more meaningful to them is being considered at city call, but some worry it would be a step backwards.
A new report from the City of Winnipeg's human rights committee of council is recommending employees be allowed to swap one statutory holiday for days that are more meaningful to them - such has Eid, Sundance ceremonies and Hanukkah
Councillor Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River), the committee chair, said Manitoba has grown as newcomers settle.
"Immigrants that are here now have traditionally celebrated those holidays and observances, as well as here in Canada consulting our Indigenous leadership,” Chambers said. “The recommendations that have come forward have been about substituting some of the days that perhaps some individuals don’t observe.”
The report recommends the province amend its employment standards code, allowing employees to substitute statutory holidays for ones that hold more meaning to them.
Derek Rolstone, president of Stone HR Strategies, said employers already make arrangements to accommodate holidays.
“I get calls every day with tough HR issues that have to be solved," Rolstone said. "This issue hasn’t come up.”
He said it would be logistically difficult.
“If people were to take other days off, I think it causes a lot of logistical problems, possible mayhem.”
Chambers said the city recognizes the impact it could have on business.
“If we were to truly be an inclusive city this is something that we’ll have to engage in,” he said.
Dr. Rehman Abdulrehman, who is a clinical psychologist and the founder of the advocacy group WinnLove, wants all major cultural holidays to be celebrated. He says that will amount to eight or 10 days per year.
“Everybody gets those days off. So it’s not about the substitution of days, it’s about literally all of us taking those days,” Abdulrehman said.
He said this will encourage people who do not celebrate the Christian statutory holidays to share their cultures.
The report and its recommendations are set to be discussed at the next committee meeting on Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How the 2023 federal budget impacts you
The federal government unveiled its spring budget Tuesday, with a clean economy as the centrepiece, and detailing targeted measures to help Canadians deal with still-high inflation.
Walmart and Costco in Canada not making food inflation worse, experts say
Experts say the Canadian presence of American retail giants such as Walmart and Costco isn't likely to blame for rising grocery prices. That's despite Canadian grocery chain executives having pushed for MPs to question those retailers as part of their study on food inflation.
Federal government capping excise tax on alcohol after outcry
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned 6.3 per cent increase.
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Budget 2023 proposes across-the-board 3 per cent spending cut for government departments
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
Hamilton family raising awareness about Strep A after sudden death of toddler
A Hamilton, Ont., family is hoping to raise awareness about Strep A after the tragic death of their two-year-old.
Meat from extinct mammoth grown in lab, used to create meatball
An Australian company lifted the glass cloche on a meatball made of lab-grown cultured meat using the genetic sequence from the long-extinct pachyderm, saying it was meant to fire up public debate about the hi-tech treat.
Paris trash strike ends, pension protest numbers shrink
Sanitation workers in Paris are set to return to work Wednesday amid heaps of trash that piled up over their weekslong strike as protests against French President Emmanuel Marcon's controversial pension bill appeared to be winding down.
38 dead in Mexico fire after guards didn't let migrants out
Infante Padron recounted how she saw immigration agents rush out of the building after fire started late Monday. Later came the migrants' bodies carried out on stretchers, wrapped in foil blankets. The toll: 38 dead in all and 28 seriously injured, victims of a blaze apparently set in protest by the detainees themselves.
Regina
-
Sask. MLA Derek Meyers dies following battle with cancer
Derek Meyers, the MLA for Regina Walsh Acres has died following a battle with cancer, according to the province.
-
'The last time I saw my grandson alive': Grandfather testifies in 2nd-degree murder trial for Chelsea Whitby
Emerson Whitby was a busy, inquisitive toddler who was always moving around. That’s how his grandfather Travis Jolly described the 18-month-old boy as he detailed the last time he saw his grandson alive during trial at the Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.
-
'Strong value': Regina police to officially launch Aerial Support Unit
The Regina Police Service (RPS) will be officially launching their Aerial Support Unit on Thursday morning.
Saskatoon
-
Taste of Saskatchewan going on hiatus this year, organizer says
Taste of Saskatchewan is tasting a break this summer.
-
Five-year-old Saskatoon boy suffers head injury in dog attack
A Saskatoon couple says they felt ignored by police after their five-year-old foster son was attacked by a dog outside the Meadowgreen Confectionary on March 22.
-
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Northern Ontario
-
Defence accuses Crown of compromising Sudbury murder trial as deliberations begin
As the jury began deliberating Tuesday on the fate of Robert Steven Wright, several restrictions on what can be reported about the case have been lifted. Here are a few of the items that were discussed during the trial when the jury was not present.
-
One dead, one injured in MR55 crash between pickup, tanker
The driver of a pickup truck, a 47-year-old woman, has died after a crash with a tanker on MR55 in the Greater Sudbury community of Lively on Tuesday morning, police say.
-
Federal government capping excise tax on alcohol after outcry
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned 6.3 per cent increase.
Edmonton
-
Edmonton man comes home to find snake native to U.S. in apartment
An Edmonton man says he hasn't slept well since finding a metre-long snake that's native to the eastern and southern American states behind his couch.
-
'Long road ahead of him': Employee shot at Edmonton Pizza Hut enters physiotherapy
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
-
New chemical in Edmonton water to help prevent lead buildup
A new colourless, odourless chemical that is designed to act as a barrier to keep lead out of Edmonton's drinking water is now running through the city's taps.
Toronto
-
Toronto council to meet for first time since Tory resigned, confirm mayor race dates
Toronto city council is set to meet today for the first time since former mayor John Tory resigned.
-
'Intense burst of snow' expected to hit Toronto area Wednesday
Spring may have arrived, but Toronto isn't quite done with winter weather yet.
-
Man accused of killing 'adventurous' teen in Toronto subway station wanted in Newfoundland
The man who allegedly killed a 16-year-old boy remembered as an avid adventurer has been wanted on an arrest warrant issued in a Newfoundland courtroom for nearly two years.
Calgary
-
Violence at Lions Park LRT station sends two women to hospital
Police were called to the Lions Park LRT station, near North Hill Centre, around 8 p.m. for reports of a large group of people fighting.
-
Police investigate suspicious death in downtown Calgary high rise
Police are investigating the circumstances of the death of a woman in a residential tower in downtown Calgary.
-
Gas prices won't be record breaking, but they will be high this summer
The price of gas is heading upward and it's expected to remain high through the summer, thanks to a number of market forces.
Montreal
-
Maureen Breau, Quebec police officer, stabbed and killed during arrest
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
-
Police identify last two victims of Old Montreal fire, both 18 years old
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
-
Former Chambly mayor arrested by UPAC on two charges
Denis Lavoie, former mayor of the South Shore City of Chambly, was arrested Tuesday by Quebec's anti-corruption unit (UPAC) for obstruction of justice and breach of trust.
Ottawa
-
Budget 2023 proposes across-the-board 3 per cent spending cut for government departments
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
-
NEW THIS MORNING
NEW THIS MORNING | 1000 Islands Wanderer Project a unique way to reignite tourism in Gananoque region
There's a different type of tourism push in Gananoque and 1000 Islands, called the Wanderer Project, promoting the region by boat, helicopter and right on main street.
-
Witness rescues woman from fatal house fire in Kanata
One person is dead after an early morning fire in Kanata, while another person is being treated for smoke inhalation after being rescued from the burning home by a bystander who spotted the fire while driving to the gym.
Atlantic
-
N.S. mass shooting inquiry report must deliver 'clear commentary': family lawyer
A lawyer who represents Nova Scotia mass shooting victims' families said in an interview they are hoping "for clear commentary on what things went wrong and what things ought to have been done better or differently."
-
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
-
N.B. residents suffering from mystery brain disease call for fresh investigations
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
Kitchener
-
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
-
Hamilton family raising awareness about Strep A after sudden death of toddler
A Hamilton, Ont., family is hoping to raise awareness about Strep A after the tragic death of their two-year-old.
-
'They're struggling to stretch their own budget': Grocery prices impact local food budgets
A one-time grocery rebate for low income Canadians is coming at time where many residents in the region are struggling to keep up with their food bills.
Vancouver
-
'How could this happen?' Mother of man killed in Vancouver stabbing looking for answers
A 37-year-old man who was fatally stabbed in Vancouver while stopping to get a coffee with his fiancé and daughter is being remembered by his grieving mother as " a beautiful soul."
-
Involuntary treatment, insufficient support: Riverview patterns continue post-closure
It's been more than a decade since the Riverview Hospital closed its doors for good and one thing is clear: The pattern of treatment, discharge, and insufficient post-hospitalization care continues throughout the province.
-
Watermain rupture displaces Burnaby residents, shuts down businesses
A watermain break is causing a massive headache for hundreds of residents living in two condo towers in Burnaby's Brentwood neighbourhood.
Vancouver Island
-
Victoria landlord to pay tenant $30K for noise, asbestos exposure after judge strikes down challenge
A Victoria landlord and property management company must pay more than $30,000 in damages and rental reduction to a tenant who complained of exposure to asbestos and excessive noise while their apartment building was renovated.
-
'Hard to keep in stock': Non-alcoholic beer and cocktails creating buzz on Vancouver Island
They’ve been pulling plenty of pints of non-alcoholic beer at Oak Bay’s Penny Farthing pub since they started carrying it this past December.
-
Elephant seal rescued from side of Saanich highway
A wayward elephant seal that was spotted off the side of the Trans-Canada Highway in Saanich was safely relocated by police and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on Monday.