Canadian Labour Congress official, Alberta NDP leader speak at Labour Day event in Red Deer

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi speaks while Michelle Baer, the party's candidate in the Red Deer-South riding, looks on during the Labour Day barbecue in Red Deer on Monday, Sept. 7. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff) Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The trade war between the United States and Canada has been a concern for workers across the country, says Canadian Labour Congress executive vice-president Siobhán Vipond. Vipond attended the Red Deer and District Labour Council's annual Labour Day barbecue, which was held at Canada 150 Square in Red Deer's Capstone neighbourhood on Monday, Sept. 7. 'We mark Labour Day every year to celebrate what unions have won, but also to talk about how we move forward and what a strong Canada looks like. A strong Canada always includes good jobs and a strong economy that supports workers in our communities,' Vipond said. In August, the U.S. imposed a 50 per cent tariff on billions of dollars worth of Canadian goods, which prompted Canada to launch retaliatory counter-tariffs. 'It doesn't matter where you go, whenever you talk to workers they're concerned about the cost of living … and now they're wondering, 'What does this tariff war mean for us?' There's a lot of insecurity about whether your job or industry will continue to exist,' Vipond said. 'As the Canadian Labour Congress, we can step up and advocate for workers and positive steps moving forward. One of those steps is ensuring investments happening in our communities will result in local jobs and people being supported. … The right response to (the United States' proposed trade deal to Canada) was 'no deal,' because it was such a bad deal. But we also know there needs to be support for workers.' Email newsletter signup Kyle Johnston, Red Deer and District Labour Council president, echoed Vipond's sentiments, saying 'right now our biggest fight is protecting workers because of the tariffs.' 'We also want to protect our workers from the corporations and corporate greed. We want to make sure we look forward to a future where workers are at the table and respected instead of being casted aside,' said Johnston. Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi also spoke at the Red Deer event. 'Every single worker deserves the right to come home safe at the end of the day. Every single worker deserves the right to a fair living and fair remuneration for hard work,' said Nenshi. 'Every single person who works hard in this province every single day deserves to not have financial fear. People who work at Safeway and Sobeys deserve to be able to afford to shop at Safeway and Sobeys. Moms in this province shouldn't have to make choices about which fruit they can afford to give to their kids this week. 'We live in one of the wealthiest places on Earth and we need to be able to understand that wealth needs to mean that every single one of us has the opportunity right here right now to live a great Canadian life.' Minister of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Joseph Schow issued a statement in recognition of Labour Day. 'Alberta is the economic engine of Canada and Alberta's workers are the driving force behind that success. Their contributions every day make our province the best place to live, work and raise a family,' said Schow. 'Alberta's government continues to promote safe, fair and healthy places for Albertans to work while attracting the investment that will provide more jobs and opportunities for Alberta workers.'