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Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada: The Thorn In Their Flesh
Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada: The Thorn In Their Flesh
Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada: The Thorn In Their Flesh
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Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada: The Thorn In Their Flesh

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This book reveals a sombre aspect of contemporary Canadian history, the administration of justice, infringement of the labour law and the exploitation of the circumstances exposed by the decline of unions. The book traces and chronicles the tribulations of one worker who dares to challenge the government to do their duty and enforce the law against one delinquent corporation found in contravention of the law, they wouldn’t pay their employees. This is arguably a second Industrial Revolution in which unemployment is high, decent jobs are hard to find, and contract assignments rule the day. It is not a pretty scenario, but unscrupulous businessmen are waiting like ravenous vultures to take advantage of the slightest opportunity that comes to the surface. They seem anxious to embrace slavery.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherDavid Taylor
Release dateJan 30, 2016
ISBN9781310356223
Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada: The Thorn In Their Flesh
Author

David Taylor

David Taylor graduated in Scottish Historical Studies from the University of Edinburgh and gained a PhD from the University of the Highlands and Islands. After teaching history at Douglas-Ewart High School he was Principal Teacher of History and Modern Studies at Kingussie High School (Badenoch) for thirty years. Now retired, he lives in Orkney.

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    Quality Brand Products Corporation And 21st Century Slavery In Canada - David Taylor

    Quality Brand Products Corporation

    And 21st Century Slavery In Canada:

    The Thorn In Their Flesh

    By David Taylor

    Published by David Taylor at Smashwords

    Copyright 2016 David Taylor

    Table of Contents

    Preface

    Acknowledgements

    The September 2013 Affair

    April 2014 Decision Time

    November 24th 2014

    January 2015

    The Last Straw

    PREFACE

    Fair is foul and foul is fair,

    When villains roam without a care.

    Fair is foul and foul is fair,

    When victims suffer in dire despair.

    And gov’ment indecisive.

    Gov’ment stays inconclusive

    Refugees beware, Ontario Canada is not paradise. In this land where Food Banks have become indispensible, where even veterans are homeless, it should become readily apparent that something is radically wrong. Consequently, it is a great paradox that the government neglects to provide ardent support for taxpayers who try to eke out an honest living.

    Politicians, wake up, you should hold your heads in shame. Westerners have the tendency to thump their chests and regard condescendingly the labour practices in countries like Bangladesh, China and others, but the old adage is very instructive, when one lives in a glass house one should not throw stones. In this province there is an Act called the Employment Standards Act 2000 which governs the interaction between employers and employees. On the website for the Ministry of Labour of Ontario the proud headline proclaims:

    "Fairness in the workplace is the right of all Ontarians."

    Furthermore, on the website for the International Labour Organization, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, the pompous proclamation reads:

    Created in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles, the International Labour Organization (I L O) is mandated to promote social justice and respect for workers’ rights throughout the world.

    Nevertheless, in these tough economic times with unions in decline, corporations violate the law, exploit employees, the government fails to act decisively and expeditiously, and vulnerable people continue to suffer tremendous hardship. In 2015 it is obvious that the I L O needs to scrutinize Ontario very circumspectly.

    Although he died a long time ago in 1874 if this Tolpuddle Martyr could learn about the current state of affairs in Toronto he would be turning in his grave. In the 1830s he was a pioneer in Dorset, England for the modern union movement. It was an extremely rigorous period for labour when vulnerable workers were suffering tremendous hardships and exploitation at the hands of the Squires who were the Masters of the Earth in the heyday of the Industrial Revolution. The use of newly-developed machinery was making some human labour redundant and wages were declining precipitously. For his crime of organizing people having them swear secret oaths to the union he was sentenced to Transportation to Australia for seven years. In those days, Dickensian times, Australia was not a paradise, it was a penal colony, so this was very harsh punishment. Fortunately there was a successful protest march and George Loveless, Methodist preacher and farm labourer, survived his ordeal, was pardoned after three years and returned to England. Courageous George deserves great praise and recognition for his altruistic deeds.

    In case you haven’t noticed, in 2015 we are in the midst of a second Industrial Revolution. Although Tolpuddle is a great distance away from Toronto and this is a different period in history, yet there is an uncanny similarity between the circumstances. Anyone living here or indeed dreaming of migrating to Canada may find it worthwhile to pay close attention to what I say, because this is not an imaginary tale like Harry Potter. What is related here did happen to me and continues to occur with many others in Toronto, Canada, not in some dark corner somewhere in some backward, underdeveloped, lawless territory. There are many victims, scores of thousands I am convinced, and based on conversations I have had with some of these cynical souls, it seems as though the great majority of them never even bothered to alert the authorities. And the scoundrels must be smiling, because just like erstwhile imperial powers, England, France, Spain and America, they get free labour to fortify their empires. And what is the government doing you may ask? In this matter the Liberal government led by Kathleen Wynne appears to be indecisive, benighted, irresponsible, incompetent and delinquent. The government has been ineffective. I know because I am a victim. There is no need to employ hyperbole to denounce the corporation or government, it is their deeds or lack thereof that defines their profile. The same criteria will determine their legacy, whether they are revered in fame or reviled in infamy. When you read this account you will see, from the activities of the government, why I say the things I do. Let me state it clearly early in this book that I have no political agenda or ambition. I am not affiliated with any political party, do not wish to be a politician and do not envy politicians for anything. We citizens are all supposed to abide by their legislation, and corporations are certainly not above the law, it was enacted to rein them in. I am not after fame or notoriety, all I want is that the authorities should enforce the law and dispense justice. In this day and age I thought we had passed that stage, but slavery is flourishing in Canada in the 21st century.

    The colour of their collar may not be blue but it is by no means a sign of their willingness to obey the law and be good citizens too. Their treasured pedigree is only illusory, less than a hair’s breath, and in their pursuit of the almighty dollar they have become irrational like ravenous hyenas. Skullduggery is extant in many places – desperate immigrants suffering at the hands of ruthless traffickers and smugglers, poor people trying to eke out an existence in dire circumstances, common and organized criminals violating unfortunate souls, FIFA, in politics in the Senate, on the Stock Market, in Banks and business in general - and Quality Brand Products Corporation.

    Notwithstanding whatever I may say about the sloppiness of the government, they are the feeble gatekeepers on my side, but this final entry above Quality Brand Products Corporation is to be regarded as the true villain in this book, and recidivism is a fundamental principle of their operations; I became a reluctant protagonist only because I worked for the corporation. Without a union to lead the charge I have

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