Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

At the 22nd annual convention of the Canadian Labour Congress, a historic resolution in support of justice and freedom for North American political prisoner Leonard Peltier was endorsed in a unanimous vote by an estimated 2,000 labour delegates who converged from across the country. The CLC represents 2.5 million unionized workers in Canada.

The event at the Metro Toronto Convention Center from May 3 to 7, 1999 brought together representatives from the auto workers' union; steel workers and hospital workers; public employees of both provincial and federal governments; from teachers, postal workers and fisherman's unions to labour boards representing districts from all Canadian provinces and territories. The final ratifying of the resolution was preceded by months of lobby by representatives of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Canada, both in Ottawa and Toronto, who engaged in numerous public speaking forums and awareness sessions with union locals and at provincial and national executive council meetings.

A final priority and emergency resolution was submitted before the convention floor that combined three resolutions in support of urgent action for proper medical treatment for Peltier; focussed on the Canadian lobby and Canada's responsibility to remedy the injustice of the false extradition as well as support clemency and Peltier's unconditional release. Unions in British Columbia, Ottawa and Hamilton, Ontario had submitted the resolutions.

Anne and Frank Dreaver, of LPDC Canada spoke at the CLC human rights forum which kicked off the convention and was attended by an estimated 300 peoples. Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, who collaborated with Dreaver on the Pine Ridge: An Open Letter to Allan Rock, Songs for Leonard Peltier album (released through Warner Music Canada in October 1996) sang his Pine Ridge song, offering a chronology of Peltier's struggle to music. The audience was moved, inspired and many peoples gave their personal commitment to lobby within their union structure. An information booth with a post card campaign to Canadian government officials was available to delegates the full week of the convention.