TORONTO/WINDSOR—Unifor members who work at Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) rallied in Windsor and Toronto to call for urgent insolvency reform and accountability from HBC executives who continue to deny workers’ severance as liquidation nears completion.

The rallies, led by Unifor Locals 40 and 240 which represent nearly 600 HBC workers, brought attention to the devastating impact of HBC’s collapse on its workforce and the broader implications for thousands of Canadian workers caught in corporate bankruptcies.

“Unifor is calling on HBC to honour its legal responsibilities to workers and urges federal legislators to overhaul Canada’s insolvency laws to put workers first,” Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi told HBC members at the Toronto rally. “It’s an absolute disgrace that executives are walking away with $3 million dollars in bonuses while our members—some with decades of service—are being denied the severance and benefits they’ve negotiated, earned, and rightfully deserve.”

Many Unifor members are owed tens of thousands of dollars in severance, benefits, and unpaid wages. Some workers with 20 or 30 years of service are now facing unemployment with no compensation as they await the full termination of the workforce so they can apply for the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), which caps at approximately $8,844.

“The WEPP cap leaves workers with significant financial loss while HBC executives and secured creditors like banks and landlords walk away with payouts,” said Unifor Local 40 President Dwayne Gunness. “It’s an injustice to all Canadian workers who are caught in the middle when companies fail and collapse—the laws must be changed to make workers priority one.”

HBC moved to cut workers’ commissions during the liquidation process but reversed course after the union filed a grievance that claimed that the move violated legally binding collective agreements.

While holding HBC accountable, Unifor is also calling on the federal government to address the systemic gaps in Canada’s bankruptcy and insolvency laws. Under current legislation, workers are treated as “unsecured creditors” and often placed at the bottom of the compensation hierarchy—behind banks, landlords, and other investors.

Unifor is urging Parliament to implement the following reforms: raise the cap on the Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), broaden eligibility and improve access to WEPP for all affected workers, strengthen super-priority status for workers’ claims in bankruptcy proceedings, hold corporate directors personally liable for unpaid compensation, and to establish trust-held or federally guaranteed funds to ensure workers are fully compensated in the event of corporate failure.

“This is about setting a precedent for how workers are treated in corporate failures moving forward—what HBC is doing to its workforce should be outlawed, and we’ll continue fighting to ensure that workers are paid every penny they’re owed,” says Unifor Local 240 President Jodi Nesbitt.

ST. JOHN’S—Energy workers aboard the SeaRose Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel have voted to join Unifor.

“Unifor is proudly Canada’s energy union, and we are thrilled to welcome workers at SeaRose as the latest members to join Unifor,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “These workers sent a clear message that they are ready to stand together for better job security, fair treatment, and a strong collective voice in their workplace.”

Unifor filed for union certification on October 18, 2024 but challenges from the employer led to delays in counting the ballots, which was finalized on May 23, 2025. SeaRose workers will now work with Unifor representatives to begin the process of bargaining a first collective agreement. This unit can choose to become part of Unifor’s successful Energy Pattern Bargaining Program, which helps to raise and standardize terms and conditions across the sector while still addressing local priorities.

“Offshore workers face unique challenges, and the need for a strong union has never been greater,” said Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Jennifer Murray. “With this certification, SeaRose workers join a growing movement in the Canadian offshore industry that’s demanding dignity, fairness, and a seat at the table.”

With the addition of the SeaRose unit, approximately 75 per cent of Canada’s offshore oil workforce is now unionized—a major step forward for workers’ rights in the resource sector. Workers aboard the SeaRose are employed by Cenovus Energy, based out of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Unifor is calling on all levels of government and industry to step up and fight back against U.S. tariffs on Canadian products. While there are some industries who are more heavily impacted than others through direct trade activity, the tariffs are an economy-wide threat to Canada.

The U.S. trade war has presented a threat to Canadian sovereignty and Canadian jobs. For the telecommunications sector, the trade war initiated by the United States mandates  is a call to action to ensure that the industry becomes more resilient and less vulnerable to foreign governments and companies.

Unifor is calling for governments and industry to:

• Tighten foreign ownership rules by prohibiting U.S. companies from purchasing any Canadian telecommunications company operating in the country or any core infrastructure (e.g., wireless backhaul infrastructure, transmitting infrastructure, data centres).
• Protect our infrastructure to safeguard Canada’s sovereignty in an increasingly volatile global landscape, recognize it as a strategic national security asset, secure telecommunication standards and crisis preparedness requirements for all telecom providers.
• Continue rolling out funds for broadband infrastructure projects in remote and rural regions, while ensuring that these projects create good local jobs, especially at the federal level and within the scope of the CRTC
• Dedicate government funding to expand broadband infrastructure to include, where possible, partnering with Indigenous communities to establish locally owned service providers and telecommunications infrastructure.
• Introduce governmental incentives for Canadian telecommunications companies to develop more domestic production capacity and reduce their dependence on U.S. or other foreign suppliers. Incentives should be contingent on creating jobs locally and keeping jobs in Canada.
• Prohibit foreign satellite companies from expanding their services in Canada and phase out foreign satellite presence by expanding terrestrial infrastructure in remote areas, following the cancellation of the Ontario government’s deal with Starlink.
• Prioritize Canadian companies and require that work be performed locally and within Canada for any government procurement (at all levels) for telecommunications services and/or equipment
• Proactively explore leveraging publicly owned hydro infrastructure, utilizing our robust telecommunications networks to reduce dependency on U.S. telecom imports and mitigate the economic impacts of ongoing tariff disputes. Specifically, expanding this infrastructure can improve resilience, enhance emergency response capabilities, and ensure reliable telecommunications services during natural disasters or trade-related disruptions. Government funding and support for these initiatives must contain stringent conditions, including the creation of stable local jobs, affordable, regulated consumer rates, and guaranteed equitable access for underserved communities.

About the Telco sector

Unifor is Canada’s premier telecommunications union, with nearly 26,000 members  employed by large, small, private, and Crown employers in most regions of the country.
Unifor’s telecommunications sector members make up approximately 8% of the union’s total membership, and the majority of the membership is concentrated among subsidiaries of Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) and SaskTel.