The labour movement in B.C. is lacking, said the president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.
Jim Sinclair called for people to revitalize the labour movement in his opening speech for the 53rd convention of the federation at the Vancouver Convention Centre yesterday.
"It's a shame to waste a good crisis," he told the crowd.
Sinclair spoke about the labour movement's failure in the May 2009 provincial election.
They lost more than just the election, according to Sinclair, they "lost the real possibility of taking our province back."
He called for the people of the movement to come together and begin work towards defeating the government now and not three years from now.
"We need a stronger labour movement," he said.
The failures of the labour movement weren't as impressive as the failures Sinclair pinned on the provincial government though.
"We must reject the HST as a disaster for everything we believe in," he said.
Sinclair wants taxes to go up, but claims the HST would be taking money out of the pockets of the people and giving it to corporations instead of into public services.
He wants an organized movement towards a vote on the controversial tax before it goes through.
"We need to act as one voice," he said.
