Press release
Review and outlook 2024-2025

Press conference with QFL President and General Secretary

Montréal, January 14, 2025 – The Quebec Federation of Labor (QFL) enters 2025 with the backdrop of the end of the Ottawa regime and the upcoming election. In Quebec City, the CAQ government has clearly lost the confidence of the population and still hasn’t found its compass, being unable to solve the urgent problems of high living costs, housing and francization, to name a few.

“The next federal election campaign will also be the object of particular attention on the part of the QFL. It’s not true that we’re going to let the right-wingers, inspired by the most retrograde ideas of our southern neighbors, attack our social safety net. A campaign that will undoubtedly be polluted by the president-elect’s threat to impose a 25% surtax,” says QFL president Magali Picard.

“Regarding labour relations, the QFL is concerned about Ottawa’s interference in negotiations in the rail, port and postal sectors, ordering a return to work and binding arbitration. These are dangerous precedents that break the balance of power between employers and workers. In Quebec City, the Minister of Labour has even floated the idea of perverting the definition of essential services to put an end to labour disputes, despite the fact that the right to strike is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution,” adds the President.

“At the federal level, after years of struggle and demands, we finally have anti-scab legislation, a dental care program, the beginnings of a universal public drug insurance plan, family allowances and a federal daycare program. These are gains that must be preserved, not only for workers, but for the entire population. But there’s still a lot of work to be done, and we’re still waiting for a real reform of employment insurance,” says QFL General Secretary Denis Bolduc.

“In Quebec City, we are also awaiting the necessary reform of the public sector bargaining regime and will be taking part constructively in the consultations. Also, in occupational health and safety, the Minister of Labour will have to put his foot down and adopt, once and for all, the regulation on prevention and participation mechanisms in establishments designed to protect all workers. We wonder which sectors of activity or ministries are blocking the implementation of such a regulation designed to protect the health of female employees in particular”, continues the President.

“Finally, the QFL will be paying close attention to the upcoming negotiations in the construction sector, temporary foreign workers and closed work permits, as well as energy issues and our fears of privatization. The year 2025 will culminate in the 34th QFL Convention at the end of November,” concludes the union leaders.

The QFL, Quebec’s largest central labour body, represents over 600,000 workers.

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Translated into English by SEU 800 from the original French-language press release issued by the QFL.