Job action thins ranks at labour film fest

Barb Stewart couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. The treasurer of the Workers’ History Museum in Centretown had finally solved the question that had stumped many of her colleagues: Why were there only 25 people in attendance at Ottawa’s version of the Canadian Labour International Film Festival?

“One of our smaller crowds, I think it’s our smallest ever,” she said. 

“It could be because PSAC (Public Service Alliance of Canada) is on strike. They’re arguing with the federal government. They went out yesterday so I gather that’s why nobody came in — normally there’d be a lot more.”

The film fest was held at the Centretown headquarters of Canada’s largest federal public sector union, PSAC. 

As fate would have it, a group of PSAC workers (under the Alliance Employees’ Union) had been protesting outside the location, creating an ethical blockade for any potential guests from the parent union. 

Those who did attend the festival were treated to free popcorn and a handful of films illustrating different labour-related issues in the modern world. 

The board members say they are thinking of holding another event in early 2017 to screen certain films they didn’t get a chance to show this time around. 

Originating in Toronto in 2009, the festival is described as “the stage and the voice of those who seek justice on the job and dignity in their workplace.” Since then, it’s occurred annually in over 40 locations across Canada, with this year’s event being the third time the Workers’ History Museum has hosted the festival in Ottawa.

Selecting from a nationwide list of 20 films, the museum’s board members chose to screen six films due to the diversity of themes they covered. 

Topics included the rights of domestic and foreign workers, the conflicting views of a proper minimum wage amount and the power of a strong union. 

“It’s different struggles that people are facing around the world. It’s getting the stories out there,” said Stewart.  

The festival also showcased filmmaking talent from across the globe, with films originating in Canada, Brazil, England, France and the US. The museum’s own short film — Canada’s Rand Formula, which examines the legacies of a 1946 autoworkers’ strike — will be shown in other festival locations.

Robert Allen, the museum’s secretary, said the festival goes a long way in educating Canadians about rights that they deal with in their day-to-day jobs. 

“A lot of people don’t know about this stuff anymore,” Allen said. “If you ask an average person where they got their rights of maternity leave and things like that, they might say, ‘Oh, I don’t know…somebody gave it to us.’ ” 

“Well, no. People fought for it and you have to remember when you fight for it somebody always wants to pull it back, right?”

Museum board member Barry Parkinson said film is the perfect medium to show the issues. While he said the films’ viewers would likely to be part of a “niche market,” he added that everyone can learn a thing or two from them. 

“It’s in the interest of people. It’s basic human rights whether it’s divided rights, the rights of domestic workers, the rights of gays and lesbians or the right to a decent wage,” he said.

“We don’t pay enough attention to these things whether in our home lives or in day-to-day work.”

Despite the low numbers, those at the museum are pleased with how 2016’s festival turned out.

“We had new people out tonight, some people we hadn’t seen before. Some students, three girls from the University of Ottawa, which is really good,” Stewart said.