Greetings CBTU Member:
Happy New Year to you and all the best for 2023. We wish you a healthy and prosperous year.
Last year, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) worked closely and in partnership with organizations including The Ontario Federation of Labour, A Different Booklist, and The Freedom Train to name a few.
The CBTU would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support in making 2022 such a success.
2023 marks our 27th year, and we have a very exciting year ahead. We will double our efforts to influence policies that impact our communities and will do whatever is necessary to grow the organization and ensure that we continue progressing.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Canada Chapter is always open to further donations if possible. Any donation would be above your annual membership fees. These donations will support CBTU projects and initiatives.
Please forward your dues and donations, along with a copy of your completed membership form to:
Attention: Christine Maclin – CBTU
115 Gordon Baker Road, Toronto, ON M2H 3H9
Payments can be made by cheque or money order payable to CBTU or by e-transfer to Christine Maclin at [email protected].
The 52nd International Convention is being held May 24-29, 2023 in New Orleans. If you are planning to attend our International Convention, you must be a member in good standing. Membership dues must be paid to the Canada Chapter no later than March 3, 2023. We will submit your name and contact information to CBTU International once we receive your dues. You will receive your official CBTU membership card from Washington headquarters. If you have already paid please ignore this request.
Please note, if you are attending the International Convention in New Orleans, the Canada Chapter has an agreement that if you register prior to the early registration date of March 17, 2023 your registration fee will be at par - $375.00 CDN. If you will be utilizing this agreement, you MUST mail your registration form along with a money order to: CBTU International Office, P.O. Box 66268, Washington DC 20035-6268, before March 17.
Otherwise, your registration fee will be as noted on the registration form in US funds. A copy of the mail-in registration form is attached for your convenience.
The CBTU’s mission is to encourage and support the full participation of Black workers and Workers of Colour in their unions, and to organize to maximize our political influence with the labour movement and other stakeholders. The Coalition must play a significant role in educating and mobilizing members to create the type of workplace and society we want and need for present and future generations.
This year we are determined to build this organization to be stronger and more influential than ever before. We encourage you to attend our meetings and events, join one of our Committees and be a part of the change. We look forward to communicating with you and please do not hesitate to pass on ideas, suggestions and comments.
Please RSVP to Holmann Richard at [email protected] if you plan to attend. Hope to see you there!
Peace and Solidarity,
CBTU Canada Chapter Executive
Voir la version française ci-dessous.
Honouring Our Past. Advancing Justice. Building Our Future.
On August 1, 2026, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada proudly joins Black communities, trade unionists, and Canadians across the country in commemorating Emancipation Day. This year carries special significance as CBTU-Canada also celebrates its 30th Anniversary—three decades of advancing racial justice, equity, and dignity for Black workers throughout Canada.
As we celebrate this milestone, we honour those whose struggles made our progress possible while recommitting ourselves to the work that still lies ahead.
Emancipation Day marks the coming into force of the Slavery Abolition Act, which took effect on August 1, 1834, abolishing the legal enslavement of Africans throughout most of the British Empire. While this legislation represented a historic step toward freedom, it did not erase centuries of injustice or their enduring consequences. To the contrary, the Act compensated slaveholders for the loss of their property while peoples of African descent around the world continue to advocate for reparatory justice almost 200 years after the passage of the Act.
Few Canadians realize that the enslavement of Africans existed on Canadian soil for nearly 200 years before the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act. Enslaved African men, women children and peoples of African descent were bought, sold, inherited, and forced to labour in French and British colonies across the country. Their lives, labour, and humanity were treated as property under Canadian law. The abolition of slavery ended a legal institution, but it did not end the discrimination and inequality that had been built upon it.
For Black Canadians, Emancipation Day is therefore much more than a celebration of freedom. It is an opportunity to reflect honestly upon our history, recognize the extraordinary resilience and courage of our ancestors, honour those who survived unimaginable injustice, and recommit ourselves to addressing the inequalities that continue to be shaped by that history.
This year's Emancipation Day carries even greater international significance.
On March 25, 2026, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution declaring the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans (slavery) a crime against humanity. The resolution passed with 123 Member States voting in favour, three voting against, while Canada abstained.
For many Black Canadians, Canada's decision to abstain was deeply hurtful and cast doubt upon the government’s commitment to reparatory justice for our community.
Canada often speaks proudly of its commitment to human rights, equality, and justice. Yet when presented with an opportunity to stand with the overwhelming majority of the international community in recognizing one of history's greatest crimes against humanity, Canada chose not to support the resolution.
The time for Canada to fully confront its own history is long overdue.
Earlier this year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney reminded the international community that "the power of the less powerful begins with honesty." He further stated that countries have the capacity to build a future grounded in respect for human rights, solidarity, and justice, and that we must strive to build a world that is "better, stronger, and more just." Those principles speak directly to the purpose of Emancipation Day and to Canada's responsibility to confront the history of the enslavement of Africans within its own soil..
An apology alone cannot erase history.
However, an apology can acknowledge historical truth, recognize the dignity of those whose humanity was denied, and demonstrate a national commitment to ensuring that such injustices are neither forgotten nor repeated.
A federal apology should also serve as the beginning—not the end—of a meaningful national conversation about reparatory justice. The United Nations has started such a worldwide consultation process toward reparatory justice as part of the International Second Decade of Peoples of African Decent. Canada should be leading the way not abstaining. As trade unionists, we understand that social progress has never occurred by accident. Every significant advance in human rights has required ordinary people to organize, educate, advocate, and persist.
The campaign calls upon the Government of Canada to formally acknowledge its historical role in the enslavement of Africans, explain its abstention at the United Nations, issue a formal federal apology, and begin a national dialogue on reparatory justice. This campaign is about accepting historical responsibility, honouring truth, and building a Canada that more fully reflects the values of justice, equality, and human dignity that we proudly proclaim.
As CBTU-Canada celebrates thirty years of advocacy for Black workers and communities, we remain inspired by those who came before us and encouraged by the generations who continue this struggle today.
On this Emancipation Day, we remember the lives stolen by slavery.
We honour the resilience of those who survived.
We celebrate the achievements of Black Canadians who continue to shape this nation.
And we recommit ourselves to the unfinished work of justice.
Only by honestly confronting our past can we build a future worthy of the generations yet to come.
Let freedom reign on Emancipation Day.
In solidarity,
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Canada
August 1, 2026
