“Where have all the good people gone?” wonders Canadian rock legend Sam Roberts in one of his songs. We’re pretty sure a lot of them were gathered at TD Place Saturday night for the 8th annual Rock for Public Services concert organized by CUPE Local 503. Roberts and his band were joined by Matt Mays and Amanda Rheaume and played for a full house of music-loving union members and public servants, as well as Ottawans who appreciate a free concert. As always, the concert was raising funds for charity, and this year’s chosen organization was the NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit initiative.  Attendees raised $12, 246.72!  JM&A was proud to contribute to this important cause.

Matt Mays

Jewitt McLuckie & Associates recently held its first Halloween candy drive collecting boxes of candy for the Orleans-Cumberland emergency food cupboard. Halloween candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters is a luxury that families in poverty can’t afford and just one more way that children in poverty miss out and are isolated from their peers. We had great participation for our first drive and look forward to making it an annual event.

David Jewitt spoke to incoming students at uOttawa Faculty of Law (Common Law Section) on Mind Body Awareness Practices for Lawyers: How to Find Balance and Focus in the Practice of Law.   David had the students up and out of their seats for some firsthand experience in mind/body awareness. He credits his yoga and mindfulness practice for his ability to thrive in an incredibly challenging field. We wish this year’s class all the best as they develop their own strategies for handling the stressful world of law practice!

(Photo credit – Marina Pavlović, via Twitter)

Jewitt McLuckie & Associates got a bird’s eye view of Ottawa’s Labour Day Parade 2015. Despite the scorching weather, there was a strong union presence, with enthusiastic marchers from CUPE, ATU, IBEW, CAPE, PIPSC, PSAC and others on their way over to McNabb Park.  Thanks to the generosity of the Ottawa District Labour Council, the festivities continued with a free barbecue and lots of family fun. We hope everyone had a great long weekend and remembered to thank the labour movement pioneers who made it possible!

Hosted with flair by CUPE Local 503 and held at Manderley on the Green, the Jacques Trépanier Open is an annual event collecting food items for the Ottawa Food Bank.

JMA donated a number of door prizes, and seven of us played a round of golf, with skill levels ranging from quite experienced to totally new.

We all enjoyed the relaxed, fun atmosphere, and even finished the afternoon with a bit of beautiful sunshine!

Jewitt McLuckie & Associates welcomed CUPE Local 503 and other friends and neighbours to our annual Summer Solstice BBQ on June 19th. With spectacular weather and crowd-pleasing live music kindly supplied by the Tune Junkies, it was a great way to kick off the weekend and the summer! Special thanks to Fran Middleton, event coordinator as well as CUPE Local 503 for providing the space, the grill, and even some members of the band!

In April, Jewitt McLuckie & Associates  had the opportunity to join another area firm, SGM, as part of the Lawyers Feed The Hungry program, an initiative put together by the Law Society in four different cities across Ontario.  The Ottawa branch of the program serves up a feast for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents on the third and fourth Thursday of each month at the Ottawa Mission, located at 35 Waller Street, between the hours of 3:00 – 5:00 P.M.

The law firms sponsor the cost of the meal and provide enough volunteers to work as servers, to bus tables and to generally provide those in need with a full restaurant-style experience.  As you can see from the smiles, everyone had a great time and JM&A can’t wait for our next chance to participate in this noble venture.

 

 

Last night, Premier-Elect Rachel Notley and the entire Alberta NDP made history with a victory over the Alberta PC party that has been in power in that province for 44 years.  The NDP won 53 seats in the 87-seat legislature, with Wild Rose winning 21 seats to become the official opposition, and the PC picking up just 10. This was a significant change from only four weeks ago. When then-Premier Jim Prentice called the election on April 7, the PCs held 70 seats in the legislature, while Wild Rose held 5 and the NDP held just 4.

In electing a new governing party for the first time in more than four decades, Albertans rejected a party that has held 13 consecutive majority governments, signifying that they are ready for a change. Significantly, the PCs campaigned primarily on their recently-proposed budget, which included cutting 2, 016 public sector jobs, and no increase in corporate taxes. That platform was rejected by Alberta voters. The NDP countered that proposal with one of their own – a promise to raise the corporate tax rate 2%, raise taxes on those with the highest-incomes, and increase funding for the province’s schools and hospitals. THAT is what Albertans voted for. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of what is to come!

Samantha Lamb from JM&A wins 2.3 million dollar pay equity decision for OPL female employees in precedent setting case.