Below are a number of resolutions on the following issues:

• Municipal Funding and Democratic Authority
• Centering Indigenous Labour Members in the Climate Justice Struggle
• Hate
• Recycling Rules at Municipal Level
• Legislation Towards a Workers Bill of Rights
• Defend Publicly-Funded Education
• Housing For All
• Increasing Support to the Ontario Health Coalition
• The OFL Stands for Peace and Reduced Military Spending

Read on to explore each resolution in detail.

Municipal Funding and Democratic Authority
(148 words)

WHEREAS many Ontarians live in cities, and workers want to continue doing so;

WHEREAS municipalities are considered creatures of the provinces without constitutional protections;

WHEREAS Ontario has trampled on democratic rights of municipalities and their residents; and

WHEREAS municipal programs and services are increasingly complex, provincial and federal governments are important partners in their delivery, funding structures have not kept up, and protecting public services is critical;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will call for Ontario’s government to commit to work with the federal government and key municipalities to establish a new deal for cities, including appropriate funding arrangements and powers
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will support a campaign with Labour Councils to demand a new deal
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will call for Ontario’s government to amend the Municipalities Act and City of Toronto Act to:

• Eliminate undemocratic strong mayor powers
• Return authority to elected municipal councils to determine their own ward structures and number of elected representatives

Centering Indigenous Labour Members in the Climate Justice Struggle
(141 words)

WHEREAS we are in a critical moment to address the climate crisis and must advocate against false solutions and for a Just Transition;

WHEREAS Indigenous members call for the implementation of UNDRIP in the context of Truth and Reconciliation within labour;

WHEREAS Indigenous Peoples face ongoing displacement from their territories (including Toronto and York Region), due to corporate and government interests, accelerating the ongoing climate crisis; and

WHEREAS Indigenous Peoples are among those being impacted hardest by climate impacts, while being among those least responsible for the crisis and having knowledge to share;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will enable an Indigenous-led working group to develop policy/campaigns for a Just Transition

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will enable said Indigenous-led working group with $0.30 per OFL member annually for policy/campaigns towards Just Transition

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Indigenous members of Labour must be included in policy development/campaigns for a Just Transition

Hate
(147 words)

WHEREAS recent anti-2SLGBTQI+ mobilizations – urged on by Conservative politicians – brought hate, intimidation, false information and division to many communities, in public spaces including school zones and public libraries; 

WHEREAS this is a workplace health and safety issue;

WHEREAS affiliates cannot be bystanders, as 2SLGBTQI+ rights are human rights;

WHEREAS anti-2SLGBTQI+ mobilizing is an extension of previous Islamophobic organizing and organizing by right-wing Convoy leadership against health care workers and racialized communities;

WHEREAS violent threats are escalating;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will create supporting materials and encourage and support affiliates to:

• a. Condemn attacks against workers, families and communities who support and defend trans, drag and 2SLGBTQI+ events;
• b. Create flying squads to provide meaningful support to workers, organizations and communities facing attacks;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will play an active role in the CLC emergency task force to develop a guide outlining Health & Safety tools for affiliates to ensure the safety of workers where events occur.

Recycling Rules at Municipal Level
(116 Words)

WHEREAS it is imperative that we do everything we can to address the climate crisis;

WHEREAS the Extended Producer Responsibility model is one step towards addressing the crisis at a municipal level but the way it has been shaped by the Ontario Conservative government is fundamentally flawed; and

WHEREAS the best way to ensure waste is reliably and effectively diverted in a consistent way is to continue to allow qualified municipal workers to continue their hard, dedicated work;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will lobby the provincial government to:

• change the rules regulating the Extended Producer Responsibility model adopted through the Waste Free Ontario Act.
• ensure that these new rules protect local jobs, maintain local control, increase environmental targets, and improve transparency.

Legislation Towards a Workers Bill of Rights
(144 words)

WHEREAS workers’ rights are themselves the foundation upon which all other civil, democratic, and human rights are built;

WHEREAS workers’ rights are constantly under threat of attack from the forces of capital; and

WHEREAS the advancement of worker’s rights is the keystone of the struggle of the labour movement;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will vigorously advocate for a Workers’ Bill of Rights which includes:


1. An unlimited, unqualified, and irrevocable right to strike for all workers.
2. A ban on the use of replacement workers (scabs) during a strike.
3. A return to a model of “card-check” certification for all union organizing campaigns.
4. Extend equal rights to all workers - regardless of classification.
5. Improvements to employment standards, occupational health and safety, and workers compensation provisions.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will not support any political party or candidate who does not include the Workers’ Bill of Rights as a central component of their political platform

Defend Publicly-Funded Education
(134 words)

WHEREAS publicly-funded education is dying by a thousand cuts every day and droves of education workers are leaving the profession, exhausted by the demands of the job.

WHEREAS education is a means for our next generation to become critical thinkers, not obedient workers.

WHEREAS Currently our classrooms and schools are lacking the necessary supports to provide our children what they need to succeed.  Our kids and our communities deserve more.

BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will undertake an extensive campaign to stop the Conservative government’s plans to continually cut, underfund, and erode the institutions of publicly-funded education as they strive to foster demands for private education.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will assign a minimum of two full-time staff to a province-wide campaign which demands a reversal to the cuts to publicly-funded education and activates all communities in seeking real investments into classrooms. 

Housing For All
(133 words)

WHEREAS the financialization of housing, which is the root cause of housing unaffordability, is enabled through a political process of deregulation, privatization, and the transfer of public monies to private developers, investors and landlords, and

WHEREAS the union movement has a moral and political responsibility to lead mass campaigns that defend working people, expand public social services, and reverse privatization.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will commit at least $300,000 to a ‘housing for all’ campaign that incorporates as key elements of its demands: the creation of a publicly owned and operated social housing program AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR CO-OP HOUSING;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this campaign will focus on active community mobilization including: public meetings, educational events, assistance in the organizing of tenant unions, and mass demonstrations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OFL demand the provincial government legislate rent rollbacks and controls for all renters in Ontario.

Increasing Support to the Ontario Health Coalition
(114 words)

WHEREAS the Ontario Health Coalition is the core organization through which unions, community allies, and the public are able to defend and expand universal, public health care; 

WHEREAS the OHC provides all unions a model for coalition-based campaigning in support of policies that benefit all workers; and

WHEREAS OHC’s campaigns are based on the fundamental concept that health care is about caring for people – patients, families and workers – not profit;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will increase OHC sponsorship funding to $30,000 per year, and encourage other affiliates to do the same; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the OFL will help connect OHC with available affiliate union labour resources, such as full-time staff, delegated leadership, or volunteer book-off time, to enable OHC campaigning.

The OFL Stands for Peace and Reduced Military Spending
(116 words)

WHEREAS the Federal government’s financial position has a direct impact on provincial social infrastructure in the form of revenue transfers and the overall tax burden;

WHEREAS the Federal government is preoccupied with military interventionism on behalf of American and Canadian corporate interests overseas, and

WHEREAS Canada’s military spending has increased 75% in less than a decade, with tens of billions in future spending committed to weapons procurement.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the OFL will release a public statement opposing increases to Canadian military spending, in support of reducing military spending WHILE USING THIS DIVIDEND TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, and in solidarity with the principles of international peace, negotiated settlement of disputes, and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other nations.

To view the resolutions as a PDF, please click here.