When the full text of CETA was released in February 2016, we all thoroughly analyzed the deal. Each of us came to the conclusion that it wasn't a good deal for workers, so together we set to work to find areas where we could either block the deal or change it in a way that would protect workers' and citizens' interests in Canada and Europe.

By turning our backs on the PM, we were challenging a system built to inherently favour them above anyone else. As many social justice activists assert, the system isn't broken, it was built this way -- to disenfranchise and exclude women, "other" racialized people and anyone suggesting that change should be driven from the bottom up. What has occurred to me is that if white men are not leading the charge, they are often on the defensive.

You wouldn't know it from the tone of discourse today, but immigrants and foreign workers have been part of the Canadian labour force since Confederation. Then, much as now, they were necessary to ensure Canada's economic survival. Nevertheless, 19th century immigrant workers were viewed with suspicion and contempt and assigned the most dangerous tasks.

Nearly one in three people employed in Ontario is a union member. If you are one of these 1.6 million workers, you enjoy a tremendous advantage because your union has negotiated a fair wage and workday for you.