Canada Gets the Latin American Treatment
How does it feel, O Canada, to be treated like a Latin American nation?
The North American free trade agreements between the US, Canada and Mexico—NAFTA and the USMCA—were not partnerships among three equal amigos; Mexico is the brown sidekick. For example, Canadian and US corporations cannot sue each other’s governments if they feel their rights have been violated, but US corporations can sue the Mexican government, meaning an individual US corporation has power equal to a national government; this has cost the Mexican government roughly $300 million.
But now, during the review of the USMCA, Trump has dragged Canada as well as Mexico individually into the backroom and beat them up with tariffs and threats of disinvestment, hoping to coerce them into submission. This is how the US has always operated in Latin America, even more so now under the “Donroe” Doctrine of total domination.
But Canada??!
Prime Minister Mark Carney surprised the world when he refused to submit and walked out of that backroom with his head still high. Instead of capitulating, he hit back with tariffs that are body blows against key US industries—50% on products from steel and aluminum to cosmetics and dairy.
But let’s not get too excited about Mr. Carney. Resisting Trump will result in higher prices for all. Carney’s class allegiance is clear; he wants Canadian workers to bear the brunt of the cost. He’s proposing to take away union rights, which will lead to lower wages, buffering corporate profits.
And rather than looking to Mexico to be Canada’s main ally, Carney turned to the European Union—a racist snub. That’s why the internationalism and anti-racism of Canada’s largest union, Unifor, and its Social Justice Fund directed by Navjeet Sidhu are such a necessary counter-narrative. “O Canada… glorious and free," their national anthem declares. Indeed.
Canadian Labor Defends Global Workers
Navjeet Sidhu is the Canadian union Unifor’s International Department and Social Justice Fund Director. For over 15 years, he has done research and policy work in the labor movement and the community, actively organizing on issues around income security, migration and anti-racism. He has worked with several advocacy groups, campaigns and organizations; these include the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, $15 and Fairness, the Canadian Labour International Film Festival and the Council of Canadians.
Did Unifor ever expect a trade war between Canada and the US? Will it affect the way Unifor and the Unifor Social Justice Fund think about their international relationships?
The whole world has changed; we’re in a moment of geopolitical instability. It’s not just the trade war—I see it as a package of issues. Trade is tied into this larger “Donroe doctrine,” which is aiming for economic and political domination of Latin America, North America and beyond. Trump has pulled out of international organizations—and cut USAID funds. After that, many organizations across the globe reached out to us. We’re a small fund, way too small to replace US aid!
But in terms of international work, the US attacks on so many countries and regions create opportunities for greater international solidarity, not just with funding, but through coalition building and advocacy. For example, Unifor statements have denounced US interventions in Venezuela. We support Cuba by working with Cuba solidarity organizations in our own country so as to pressure our government to intervene in their humanitarian crisis. We do political advocacy through Canadian and international allies in labor, NGOs and faith-based groups. We also financially support a few Cuba initiatives here in Canada, like Containers 4 Cuba, which sends donated medical supplies.
Trump has directly threatened our industries, and that’s rattled our members. So on the trade front, we’re part of the Trade Justice Network in Canada, which works with partners in the US and Mexico, pushing for trade agreements that put workers and communities first.
Where does your commitment to social justice come from? How did you end up at Unifor?
I grew up in Montreal, and my father was a Canadian Auto Workers member, but he wasn’t an active union member. My politicization and interest in activism was more through music—punk rock! I gained class consciousness from working in several bad jobs and also from getting exposed to racism as a South Asian. I didn’t have a plan but stumbled around, did social work for a while, got a job researching income security, labor and migrant rights, and later got active in my union local. At Unifor, I was hired to do research. When the director of the Social Justice Fund retired, I was lucky to be chosen to take his place.
You have spoken out about the dark history of Canada in relation to Asians. Does the Social Justice Fund have a consciously anti-racist analysis?
Definitely! The core component of Unifor’s work in general is racial equity, and it’s especially important today. Like in other Western countries, we’re seeing xenophobia and organized hate groups on the rise. During economic downturns, migrants are scapegoated. To their discredit, the Canadian government has responded not by helping the public understand the actual reasons behind the downturn, but by reducing the number of temporary foreign residents.
How does the Fund work, and where does the money come from?
The Social Justice Fund is not a new initiative. It was created in 2013, before Unifor was even formed, when the Canadian Auto Workers merged with the Communications, Energy and Paperwork’s Union. Our guiding principle is “social unionism,” supporting worker struggles beyond the workplace and beyond one company or one country. The union itself, for example, has a director of Indigenous relations and is supporting work around Truth and Reconciliation. The Social Justice Fund acts in concert with the union leadership as a vehicle to push forward projects in those areas.
Of course, we support organizations working on labor rights, especially in sectors that overlap with our own. In Mexico, we’ve supported CILAS, the Center for Labor Research and Advocacy, which helped organize auto workers at GM in Silao, Guanajuato, into the democratic union, SINTTIA (National Independent Union for Workers in the Automotive Industry). We show our members how workers in Mexico are fighting the same issues as they are and ask, “How can we work together better?”
The money in the Social Justice Fund comes from employers, not from union dues. Unifor locals bargain for contributions to the fund, which requires locals to understand that international solidarity is an essential element of the union’s overall work. This is complemented by the vital work of our education department, which creates the political education on international issues that ultimately benefits our bargaining work.
Learning about so many areas of need in the world could be depressing. What gives you the will to carry on?
These Trump years are taking a toll—it’s been an onslaught of nonstop attacks. It’s a deliberate strategy; they want us scrambling reflexively to each immediate crisis, right? We have to keep our focus.
What strengthens my resolve is our amazing member activists who are involved in their communities and in local projects that we fund, as well as the international groups that do really inspiring work in the face of monumental challenges. Activism is the cure for despair. When you know that you’re taking action for the common good, it reaffirms the feeling that a better world is indeed possible.
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