What an Amazing Coincidence

Head of the Canadian Labour Congress publicly undermines medical autonomy. A few weeks later, he's appointed to the Senate.

In May 2021, as president of the Canadian Labour Congress, Hassan Yussuff publicly undermined the medical autonomy of unionized workers. In June 2021, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate (click image).

Yesterday I discussed how labour unions sold their members down the river. Rather than defending the right of workers to make their own medical decisions, union leaders stood shoulder-to-shoulder with coercive employers.

The purpose of the FasterTogether.ca campaign, launched in late May 2021 and co-chaired by the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, was to combat COVID “vaccine hesitancy.” Numerous unions joined this campaign, staking out a very public position: Your union does not have your back. Do what you’re told.

A press release from June 3rd demonstrates that Canada’s Prime Minister was at least peripherally involved with FasterTogether:

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined the group during their weekly call, which is open to all those organizations that would like to help, and offered his appreciation for the breadth and depth of the effort.

That press release includes a blurb from the Prime Minister himself, another from the soon-to-be-disgraced national president of the UNIFOR union, one from the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and a fourth from a spokesperson for Canada’s Building Trades Unions. How sweet. Big wigs from big labour getting cozy with the Prime Minister during a period in which non-conformists are suffering blatant discrimination society-wide.

But there’s more to this story. After doing journalism for decades, this may be the fishiest timeline I’ve ever seen:

Friday, May 28th, 2021: a press release announces the launch of FasterTogether.

Friday, June 18th, 2021 - exactly three weeks later - the Canadian Labour Congress elects a new president. Which means Hassan Yussuff, the co-chair of the FasterTogether campaign, no longer holds the title the FasterTogether website (still) says he does.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021 - four days after that - Justin Trudeau appoints Hassan Yussuff to the Canadian Senate.

Wow. Mere weeks after persuading his union leader buddies to publicly undermine union members’ right to decline the vaccines being aggressively promoted by the federal government, Mr. Yussuff is handsomely rewarded by that same federal government.

What an amazing coincidence.

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suggested further reading:

• No apologies: Hassan Yussuff faces down his critics as he retires as leader of Canadian Labour Congress. His critics say he’s too cozy with the Liberals. Yussuff says those connections paid off for workers. (CBC)

• Wads of cash. ‘Relentless’ pressure. Infighting at Unifor. Leaked investigation findings reveal new details of Jerry Dias scandal. Dias’ lawyer questioned the probe’s credibility, noting the former union leader could not participate due to mental health and addiction issues. (Toronto Star)

• Resources.FasterTogether.ca is a collection of pro-vaccine ads, photos, banners, and videos disseminated by this campaign in both official languages

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