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The history of the Jewish community in Canada says as much about the development of the nation as it does about the Jewish people. Spurred on by upheavals in Eastern Europe in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, many Jews immigrated to the Dominion of Canada, which was then considered little more than a British satellite state. Over the ensuing decades, as the Canadian Jewish identity was forged, Canada underwent the transformative experience of separating from Britain and distinguishing itself from the United States. In this light, the Canadian Jewish identity was formulated within the parameters of the emerging Canadian national personality." "Canada's Jews is an account of this remarkable story as told by one of the leading authors and historians on the Jewish legacy in Canada. Drawing on his previous work on the subject, Gerald Tulchinsky describes the struggle against antisemitism and the search for a livelihood among the Jewish community. He demonstrates that, far from being a fragment of the Old World, Canadian Jewry grew from a tiny group of transplanted Europeans to a fully articulated, diversified, and dynamic national group that defined itself as Canadian while expressing itself in the varied political and social contexts of the Dominion. --Publisher's description

This article is adapted from a presentation made at a meeting of policy experts of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Trade Union Advisory Council. The presentation provided the "trade union expert perspective" at the seminar held in Paris, October 17, 2007, entitled "Fair Labour Migration" from vision to reality." Tracing an alternative approach to understanding "global labour supply", the article makes links between jobless growth, trade and investment liberalization, and the increased use of temporary migrant workers around the world. The article concludes with proposals for a broad framework of change leading to decent work and sustainable development - in both the global North and the global South.

This study examines the links between personality and the relative attraction of various total rewards components. A survey approach is adopted, with 967 individuals completing a questionnaire. These individuals are currently employed. Results show that, after controlling for the effects of several demographic variables, "Big-Five" personality traits do affect individuals' attraction to the following total rewards components: quality of work and of social relationships, development and career opportunities, variable pay, indirect pay, flexibility of working conditions, and prestige. Among Big-Five personality traits, openness to experience best predicts the relative importance employees give to the various total rewards components.

The article reviews the book, "International and European Protection of the Right to Strike : A Comparative Study of Standards Set by the International Labour Organization, the Council of Europe and the European Union," by Tonia Novitz.

Analyzes the distinctive features of the Canada-Peru trade agreement in the context of accords with other nations.

The article reviews the book, "Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution," by Paul A. Gilje.

The article reviews the book, "The Cypress Hills: An Island by Itself," by Walter Hildebrandt and Brian Hubner.

This thesis is an exploration into the potential for worker cooperatives to be conceptualized and experienced as an alternative to precarious employment for immigrants and refugees. It argues that current analysis and responses to precarious employment fail to fully address the root causes of precarious employment and fail to suggest what forms of alternative employment relations we should be striving to build. It is argued that by tracing the roots of precarious employment to the organization of work, the worker cooperative model can be seen as a potential solution to these root problems. This hypothesis is explored through two case studies of immigrant worker cooperatives, analyzing the employment experiences of several of its members. It concludes that workers cooperatives appear to provide alternatives in the areas of control, security and social capital and empowerment. However, more work is needed to support and facilitate the development and sustainability of cooperatives in order to improve in the areas of wages and formal benefits. Despite the challenges of worker cooperatives, the author argues that they remain an important tool, invoking a politics of the act that seeks to build alternative spaces of employment without relying on government or employers.

The article reviews the book, "A Glowing Dream: A Memoir," by Roland Penner.

This is a comparative study of intergovernmental relations in labour market policy in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) between 1996 and 2006, the first phase of devolution in each country. The study focuses primarily on relations between the central government and a single sub-state in each country (Alberta in Canada and Scotland in the UK) and addresses three research questions: 1) to what extent were there differences in intergovernmental relations between the countries?2) what accounted for these differences? 3) what impact did these differences have on the character and workability of the intergovernmental relations system in each country? Workability was assessed based upon the degree to which trust ties developed between senior officials. The analysis concludes that the structure of the state, the structure of the policy domain, and the presence of two important accommodation mechanisms in the UK not found in Canada (the party system and the civil service) made intergovernmental relations in labour market policy in the two countries fundamentally different. In Canada, intergovernmental relations were multilateral, interprovincial and bilateral, whereas in the United Kingdom they were only bilateral. Despite devolution, the UK Government retained control of most policy levers, whereas in Canada devolution has limited federal control and influence and any notion of a national labour market system. Trust ties were enhanced by consistency between the key players, routinized engagement, reliability, honesty, respect, capacity and willingness to engage, and transparency. Although shared objectives made engagement easier, they were not a prerequisite for a positive relationship. Bilateral relationships that took place within the geographic boundaries of Alberta and Scotland were considered as positive and highly workable. Difficulties arose when relationships became multilateral or bilateral relations were managed at a distance. Despite devolution, multilateral relations in the historically conflicted labour market policy domain in Canada remained competitive, with a low degree of workability. Relationships with respect to disability and immigration issues were more positive. In the UK relationships in the welfare to work policy area were cooperative and highly workable. Relationships in skills and immigration did not fare as positively.

The article reviews and comments on several books including "Changing Governance of Local Economies," edited by Colin Crouch, Patrick Le Galès, Carlo Trigilia, and Helmut Voelzkow, "Convergence and Persistence in Corporate Governance," by Jeffrey N. Gordon and Mark J. Roe, and "The Global and the Local: Understanding the Dialectics of Business Systems," by Arndt Sorge.

There is a growing body of literature on the role and impact of unions in the developing world, and on their ability to mobilize members against a background of neo-liberal reforms. The South African trade union movement represents a source of inspiration to organized labour worldwide, but has faced many challenges over the years. This article engages with debates on union solidarity and worker democracy, and draws on the findings of a nationwide survey of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to explore the extent of fragmentation according to gender, age, skill level and ethnicity. The survey reveals regular participation in union affairs, democratic accountability, participation in collective action, and a strong commitment to the labour movement, but variation in levels of engagement between categories of union members indicates significant implications for union policy and practice.

Technology has enabled management to utilize automation in the methods of production, and as such promoted a reduction in the use of traditional skills for traditional skilled trades' workers while narrower task specific apprenticeship training programmes promote the loss of trade knowledge traditionally passed from a trades' person to an apprentice in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this intergenerational study is to trace the changing skill requirements affected by developing technologies in the manufacturing process focusing on the traditional skills of millwright trade, and associated skilled trades. To place in context the origins of the skilled trades' I have included brief histories of five skilled trades, to represent a selection of skilled trades' often closely connected through their work in the manufacturing industry; the millwright, electrician, welder, toolmaker and machinist. In an effort to also report the possible effects of technology on skilled trade labour from a tradesperson's perspective I have utilised my own experiences and incorporated anecdotal evidence from interviews with certified millwrights and apprentices that are either presently working in the trade, or have retired from the trade in Canada. Interviews with three generations of millwrights assisted in making comparisons of training and expectations of millwright work, together with changes in the control millwrights' exercise over the jobs they perform. The focus of the thesis is the possible effects of technological progress on the required skill sets of three generations skilled trades' with a primary focus on millwright skilled trades'. Restructuring and the utilization of new technologies has facilitated a reduction in the overall number of skilled trades' workers that were previously required when traditional skilled trades' personnel were utilised. Therefore, utilization of technology to lower production costs by modern industry is affecting social structure, in that, traditional opportunities for members of the working class, without the benefit of a university education, are restricted in their ability to obtain well paid jobs as skilled trades' personnel in the manufacturing industry. Thesis : Technology has enabled automation to be utilized by management in the methods of production, and as such promoted a reduction in discretion and control in the use of traditional skills for traditional skilled trades' workers while narrower task specific apprenticeship training programmes promote the loss of trade knowledge traditionally passed from a trades' person to an apprentice in the manufacturing industry.

The article reviews several books about labour including "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets," by Harald Bauder, "Managing Labor Migration in the Twenty-first Century," by Philip Martin and Manolo Abella, and "International Migration: Globalization's Last Frontier," by Jonathon W. Moses.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Aboriginal gillnet fishers protested new state salmon regulations restricting access to the industrial fishery of the Nass and Skeena Rivers in northern British Columbia. Using cannery records, as well as letters, petitions, and statements native people made to the Department of Fisheries, this article examines both the protests and the impact of the regulations that the state introduced in a time of massive structural, economic, technological, and ecological change in the northern fishery. The native fishers' letters suggest that both their Aboriginal heritage and work-centered, class-based identities were shaping their opposition to the state. Those leading the protests were active in other areas of native politics, but also strongly identified as gillnetters, small-boat fishers in an increasingly stratified and competitive fishery. Moreover, native fishers in British Columbia had had a long history of labour activism and organization. This article suggests that understanding the ways these Aboriginal groups navigated between both the colonial and capitalist legacies can provide insights into native politics and experiences in this period.

With changes in the source of origin of immigrants, a new cohort of new generation youth from visible minority immigrant families has begun to be established and become the key replacement of the aging Canadian labour force. Based on existing research, being young, being visible, and coming from an immigrant family are possible disadvantages in the labour market. Research on this new generation youth, however, is limited. This paper reports findings of two qualitative studies examining how this new generation youth, with or without a university degree, found work and what kinds of resources they used in their job search. The economic boom in British Columbia has offered easy access to the labour market. Coming from an immigrant family, however, visible minority youth benefit very little from their social ties and those of their family.

This paper provides evidence of on-the-job training for low-paid workers in Canada and examines workplace and individual factors associated with their on-the-job training. The study uses Statistics Canada's Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) 2001 data. Results show that less than a quarter of low-paid workers received on-the-job training in 2001 as compared to one third of higher-paid workers. A decomposition of regression models indicated that this substantive gap is statistically significant. With the shrinking labour force, ongoing skills development is needed to enable workers to earn a decent living, fulfill their work-related goals, and contribute to the current and future productivity of their workplaces and the economy. We recommend governments provide support for low-paid workers' on-the-job training.

Le 1er mai 1906, les membres d'un éphémère parti socialiste canadien organisent à Montréal la première célébration de la fête internationale des travailleurs. Des centaines de personnes y défilent sous le drapeau rouge. L'événement se répète ensuite presque chaque année, et s'étend à la plupart des grandes villes du pays. L'histoire du mouvement socialiste / communiste au Canada et au Québec a certes été écrite, mais l'historiographie délaisse le sujet de sa fête annuelle. Pourtant, les journaux canadiens ont couvert l'événement, année après année, léguant aux générations suivantes une riche couverture. Celle-ci représente un outil utile, bien qu'imparfait, pour mieux saisir l'opinion de la population de l'époque à l'endroit des communistes. La présente recherche analyse plus de 400 articles de grands quotidiens pour sonder la perception des Canadiens, durant la première moitié du XXe siècle, quant au phénomène de la fête du 1er mai et au mouvement socialiste / communiste qui l'anime. Dans un premier temps, nos recherches présentent la couverture des journaux de plusieurs grandes villes canadiennes. Nous constatons alors d'importantes différences entre la perception des Canadiens français et celle des Canadiens anglais au Québec. Nous découvrons également une affinité particulière à Winnipeg -et même à Vancouver, dans une moindre mesure -pour le mouvement et sa fête. Le facteur ethnique explique en bonne partie tant les affinités de certaines communautés pour le mouvement, que la répulsion des Canadiens français. Dans un deuxième temps, à travers une approche chronologique plutôt que régionale, des facteurs conjoncturels et internationaux expliquent les fluctuations dans le ton des journaux entre 1906 et 1945. Ce travail de recherche jette la lumière sur une fête particulière, exclue du calendrier officiel nord américain et pourtant observée à travers la majeure partie du monde occidental. L'analyse de la couverture journalistique de l'événement permet de tirer d'intéressantes conclusions quant à la façon dont a été perçu le mouvement communiste canadien, au moment de son apogée.

In the past two decades, the complex of forces known as neo-liberal globalisation has transformed the environment for work, labour regulation and trade unionism in both Australia and Canada. The development of labour regimes in Australia and Canada is discussed. The influence of free trade agreements with the United States in which both countries participate is also discussed.

As the thousands of strikers took to the streets in 1919, the press waged its own propaganda war against the workers. Wasn't the Winnipeg General Strike really a Bolshevik plot? Almost all Canadian newspapers said so - except one. --Introduction