On World Press Freedom Day, marked each year on May 3, Unifor is calling for urgent action to protect press freedom, strengthen local journalism, and ensure the safety and independence of media workers in Canada and globally.

World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in in 1993, underscores the essential role of a free press in sustaining democracy and holding power to account.

The global environment for press freedom continues to deteriorate. Journalists face harassment, censorship, detention, and violence at alarming rates.

Today, press freedom is under growing threat worldwide. Journalists face harassment, censorship, detention, and violence at alarming rates. Since last year’s World Press Freedom Day alone, 78 journalists have been killed, according to UNESCO, spotlighting part of a broader pattern that highlights the risks faced by those reporting the truth.

A thriving, independent media sector is critical to safeguarding democratic institutions and the communities they serve. While Canada remains a global leader in democratic freedoms, warning signs are emerging. Declining local news coverage, rising hostility toward journalists, economic strain, and increased pressure on access-to-information systems are all cause for concern.

Economic pressures continue to reshape the media landscape. The dominance of large digital platforms in advertising markets has contributed to newsroom closures, layoffs, and reduced access to reliable local news.

At the same time, journalists in Canada are facing rising levels of harassment, surveillance, and intimidation, particularly women, workers of colour, Indigenous media workers, 2SLGBTQIA+ media workers and others from equity-deserving groups, who are disproportionately affected by harassment.

Unifor is supporting the Canadian News Industry Peer Support program, which builds a network of trained volunteers to help colleagues navigate stress, burnout or other workplace challenges.

The union continues to advocate for measures to protect journalism and #savelocalnews, ensure our members are shielded from harassment and abuse, and address misinformation, an ever-increasing battleground for press freedom.

The digital transformation of media has intensified these challenges. Disinformation campaigns that have been amplified on social media through the use of AI are eroding public trust, making it harder to distinguish fact from fiction.

To help counter this, Unifor created factcheckhere.ca, a news industry-supported campaign to encourage Canadians to pause and check their sources of information with a credible news source before sharing it.

Representing more than 9,000 media workers across Canada, Unifor remains committed to building a vibrant, independent, and sustainable media sector. The union continues to advocate for policies and programs that sustain journalism and support media workers, including requiring digital platforms to fairly compensate news organizations and strengthening support for public-interest reporting.

On this World Press Freedom Day, Unifor urges governments, media organizations, and the public to take concrete action to defend press freedom by:

• Protecting journalists from harassment, violence, and intimidation
• Strengthening local news and public-interest journalism
• Holding tech platforms accountable by ensuring they contribute fairly to the news ecosystem
• Combatting disinformation while upholding freedom of expression
• Promoting media literacy and public trust in journalism

On April 28, we observe the National Day of Mourning in honour of workers who have suffered a work-related disability, disease or death.

As we remember the victims of workplace tragedies, their grieving families, coworkers and communities, we recommit to the fight to ensure every worker ends their workday healthy, safe, and whole.

On average, approximately 1,000 workers in Canada are killed or die each year due to workplace-related causes, however, the real number could be higher. Many serious incidents and injuries, sadly, go unreported.

These numbers are frightening. They also serve as a daily reminder of the unfinished work we have left to do.

We must never wait for a tragedy to happen before we act. Our right to know, our right to participate, and our right to refuse unsafe work are not abstract ideas, they are fundamental tools for our protection. Tools that were secured at a high human cost.

As the world of work changes, through artificial intelligence, automation, and digitalisation, these rights remain non-negotiable. We must ensure that workers have a seat at the ever-evolving health and safety table. While technology may offer benefits, workers must not be exposed to new risks. Progress should never come at the cost of a worker’s life, health or livelihood.

When tragedy does strike, workers demand and deserve accountability. It has been over 20 years since the Westray Law was passed to hold employers to account for their criminal behaviour related to workplace health and safety – sadly and regrettably the law is rarely used in workplace incident prosecutions. Workers demand and deserve better.

We fight for justice by holding those in power to account and by ensuring that every worker returns home whole.

Today and every day we mourn for the dead and fight for the living.

Watch the video honouring workers who have lost their lives to workplace incidents.

TORONTO – Unifor National President Lana Payne will advocate for bold federal action to protect Canadian jobs, rebuild domestic capacity, and put workers at the centre of Canada’s industrial strategy as a member of the new federal Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations.

“This is a consequential time for our country. More than a year into Trump’s trade war, Canadian workers are paying the price for U.S. tariffs and trade aggression. We will need assertive strategies to sustain and grow our country’s industrial base and the jobs it supports,” said Payne. “We obviously need a trade agreement with the United States that protects key sectors of our economy while making sure workers and their jobs are front and centre in those negotiations.”

Payne is honoured to serve the interests of workers during this challenging period for them and for our country.

Unifor outlined a three-way strategy during the union’s recent federal lobby week, when members and leadership met with MPs across party lines.

Buy Canadian – Sell Here, Build Here

If companies want to sell in Canada, they must build here. We must invest Canadian procurement dollars into Canadian jobs. We are an industrial economy and that means defending and supporting a strong manufacturing base.

Worker‑Centred Industrial Strategies

Canada needs worker‑centred industrial strategies, with workers, employers and government at the table, focused on job quality and retention, worker-led retraining, whole‑of‑supply‑chain planning, and sustained public investment to plug strategic gaps.

Promote Good, Union Jobs

Unionized work is good work. Public funding should not bankroll employers who block union rights and government must defend free collective bargaining and the right to strike in federally regulated sectors.

Read Unifor’s calls to the federal government here.

Visit protectjobs.ca for the latest on U.S. tariffs and how workers and communities can take action to support Canadian jobs and industry.

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