Dear Sisters and Brothers
Below, is an excerpt that CTV picked up yesterday on the launch of an awareness campaign that is being implemented in partnership with ATU Canada and CUTA. Government has committed to promoting awareness in their constituent ridings as well. Over the coming weeks, posters and signs will be placed in bus terminals, on bus stops and inside buses informing the public that there is a law that compels courts to recognize assaults on operators as an aggravating factor when sentencing criminals.
Thank you to all those dedicated locals in ATU Canada that never stopped believing we could make a difference. What appeared to be almost insurmountable odds in previous years, changed in the spring of 2013 when over 40 Local ATU officers descended on Ottawa to lobby lawmakers to create a law to better protect our members.
Out of those efforts, Liberal MP Ralph Goodale and NDP MP John Rafferty introduced Private Members Bills to do just that. That day countless Members of Parliament were part of these critically important discussions and as ATU Canada kept the topic alive, law makers started to notice. By October, policy makers who were previously against such a law, were convinced to recommend a change and in November, only five months after we went to work together on the Hill, Senator Runciman committed to championing Bill S 221 through the Senate. Today, I am proud to attach a copy of the Royal Assent of Bill S 221.
When you stay united you can make a difference. Congratulations to you all.
In Solidarity
Mike Mahar
Director
Amalgamated Transit Union
Canadian Council (ATU Canada)
Bus. 416-679-8846
Fax. 416-679-9195
archive.atucanada.ca