Observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

AMAPCEO is pleased to announce that members in the OPS bargaining unit will formally observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as of this September 30. The day will become a paid statutory holiday to be observed annually on the 30th or the next business day thereafter.   

You will recall that this past July an arbitrator found the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to be a holiday within the language provisions of AMAPCEO’s OPS collective agreement. The arbitrator’s decision was the result of a dispute arising from the Ontario government’s refusal to recognize the federally proclaimed holiday.

In an unprecedented collaboration led by AMAPCEO, five OPS bargaining agents — ALOC (Association of Law Officers of the Crown), AMAPCEO (Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario), OCAA (Ontario Crown Attorneys’ Association), OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union), and PEGO (Professional Engineers of the Government of Ontario)— came together to challenge what all believed to be an unjust and disrespectful decision.

Over the month since the arbitrator’s decision came down, the Employer had the option to formally appeal the decision by seeking something known as a judicial review. We are pleased to inform you that the Employer has rightly chosen not to pursue this option and thus observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will begin this year. AMAPCEO has pressed the Employer to provide a communication to all employees announcing this outcome as soon as possible.

You may also recall that the arbitrator also found that all represented employees should be made whole for the lost day of observance in 2022. To that end, AMAPCEO has initiated discussions with the Employer on how best that remedy can occur. President Dave Bulmer commented, “the collaborative approach between unions was key to our success. We are pleased with the outcome, and we will update members on the remedy for 2022 as soon as possible.” 

For those members in other bargaining units who have yet to achieve observance of this holiday, rest assured AMAPCEO continues to advocate for its voluntary adoption in light of the overarching decision that’s occurred within the Ontario Public Service unit. We hope to accomplish observance across the board for all members as soon as possible.