65 per cent of workers in the GTA — over two million people — are in sectors that can remain open with some form of in-person staffing under current lockdown guidelines, a Star analysis has found. These essential workers are more likely to be lower-wage and immigrants to Canada, and less likely to be unionized than those who can work from home.

A union that represents more than 30,000 public sector employees in Newfoundland and Labrador is getting involved in the provincial election campaign with a new advertising campaign supporting front-line workers.

What is needed is strong government investment in workers, in infrastructure and in communities. This is how we will recover from the pandemic.

In 2019, Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) passed surprise legislation making the publicly owned Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) the sole investment manager of public-sector pension funds in the province. Previously, pension fund boards could choose between different investment managers. The legislation, Bill 22, also deregulates certain areas — new energy projects, for example, can be streamlined.