The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) in Canada stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Black Class Action Secretariat and the more than 1,500 Black Federal public service employees who have joined the proposed class action lawsuit against the Federal government of Canada. The lawsuit spotlights the Canadian government's failure to hire and promote Black workers in the Federal public service and speaks to the discrimination and harassment of tens of thousands of Black workers over decades.
“Part of our mission statement is to improve economic development and employment opportunities for workers of African-Descent,” said Yolanda McClean, President of The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists in Canada. McClean further stated that “many of the Black workers are experienced and highly qualified. They report being expected to train newly hired workers and that they also occupy leadership roles on a temporary basis. If these Black qualified workers are experienced enough to train and lead other workers temporarily, why are they not good enough to be consistently promoted?”
The data on promotion rates reveal that Black workers make up the largest racialized group with 3.8% of the approximately 300,000 Federal public service workers. The executive ranks of the Federal public service has approximately 8,000 employees. Black workers consist of approximately 1.9% of the 8000 employees at that level.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists in Canada is adding its voice to the voices of those seeking legislative changes in Canada that ensure Black workers can participate to their full potential within the Federal public service. Changes that include but are not limited to a separate and distinct category for Black workers under the Employment Equity Act which would ensure that Black workers are not left behind in the hiring and promotion processes of the Federal public service.
CBTU further calls on Canada’s Federal government to sit down with public service workers and their representatives to end the ongoing discrimination of Black workers within the Federal public service.
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists-Canada (CBTU) Executive Board
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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
