The Inverness Oran

-by April MacDonald

It has been a long, cold, and hard-fought battle between the Nova Scotia government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Nova Scotia.

A tentative agreement was finally reached on Sunday, June 7^th pause-lining an eight-week strike involving roughly 3,600 long-term care workers across 36 provincial care facilities.

The job action began on April 13^th, and involved vital personnel including continuing care assistants, nurses, housekeeping staff, and multiple therapy specialists.

On the sixth of June, CUPE provided this bargaining update to the public:

“Your lead table bargaining committee has reached a tentative agreement. At this point, all picket lines will stand down, and members will return to work as early as Monday morning.

If the tentative agreement is not ratified, the strike will resume.

After nearly 12 hours of intense negotiations, supported by our CUPE staff team and National President Mark Hancock and National Secretary Treasurer Candace Rennick, we reached an agreement between CUPE 1082 and St. Vincent's Nursing Home.”

Saint Vincent's Nursing Home is a 149-bed, accredited, not-for-profit long-term care facility located in the Halifax peninsula.

            “It took months of negotiations, eight weeks on the picket line, countless hours spent fighting for what we know we all deserve, but we have gotten a deal that we unanimously recommend to our members.”

What's next?

“According to the provincial Lead Table Protocol, the tentative agreement must first be ratified by the Lead Table Local within 10 days. We are aiming to complete this within 72 hours.

Details of the tentative agreement cannot be shared with other locals until this process is completed.

If ratified by Local 1082, details of the tentative agreement will then be presented and voted on by all locals that have completed local bargaining.”

They ask that you please keep an eye on your email for details about the ratification process.

“We would all like to warmly thank each and every member for your trust, your support, and your solidarity. Together we fight, together we win!”

This was submitted by the Lead Table Bargaining Team, Christa Sweeney, chair of Long Term and Community Care Committee, our local representative Ashton Brown, representing Cape Breton from Local 1485, Laura Stewart, representing Central from Local 4919, Greg Williams, representing Western from Local 5248, Janet Macdonald, president of Lead Table Local, CUPE 1082, Edwina Donovan, CUPE 1082, Dale Henneberry, CUPE 1082.

As CUPE Local 1485 had entered their fourth week on strike, they wanted to extend their heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stood with them.

“The support from our community, neighbouring communities and businesses has been incredible. From donations of food, water, supplies, gift cards, monetary, porta- pottie and other essentials, to coffee, homemade treats, meals, encouraging words, waves, and honks, every act of kindness has helped lift our spirits and keep us going.

While we cannot thank everyone individually, please know that every gesture has been noticed and deeply appreciated. Your generosity and solidarity have reminded us that we are not alone.

Thank you for supporting long-term care workers as we continue to fight for fair wages, respect, and recognition. Your kindness has carried us through these past four weeks, and we are truly grateful. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

In solidarity, CUPE Local 1485, Inverary Manor Workers.

            Following unanimous endorsement from the union's negotiating team, all picket lines stood down to allow staff to start returning to work as early as Monday morning, June 8^th.

Contract discussions had been stagnant since agreements expired in October 2023, primarily stalling over wages, employee benefits, and workplace adjustments. Prior to the deal, the province's public offer included a 12 per cent to 24 per cent wage increase over four years, enhanced shift premiums, and funding for defined benefit pension plans.

CUPE initially noted this fell short of Nova Scotia's actual living wage.

Exact contract terms are being withheld from the public until union members review the details.

As mentioned previously the lead bargaining unit — CUPE Local 1082 representing employees at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home in Halifax — is scheduled to vote first. If they vote to accept, the agreement will then go out to all remaining locals across the province.

Ron Williams points out all the different flowers and wildlife in his painting at his artist talk at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts on Sunday, June 7^th.

-by Beverley Phillips

                Folk artist Ron Williams shared both his passion and his process at an artist talk on Sunday.

                Williams came to Nova Scotia in 1988 from Alberta and worked as a forestry technician for the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environment. He now lives and works in West Arichat. His art and the name of the exhibit, Ground Truthing: an outside life, a solitary story, collective myth, come from those years of working in the forest. Ground truthing is a term from work that refers to getting out on the ground and documenting what is there, and his paintings reflect what he saw. They also reflect who he is, an outdoorsman who has often worked alone, and yet his personal experience reflects our collective story, as nature is part of each of us.

                Williams’s art has been on display at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts since May 17^th, and sitting in the gallery surrounded by it, he described what was behind some of the pieces and talked about his process.

                He became an artist in 2016 when he was looking for something to do as he recovered from surgery. And while he has had no artistic background or training, in listening to Williams, you know he is a true artist who finds inspiration all around him. When he began his journey into art, he said, “I imagined some guy in a lighthouse, or living in a cabin deep in the woods, and he wants to decorate the walls. So he’d go to the shed and use whatever he found there.” And that’s how Williams came to use Tremclad rust paint as his chosen medium, and found items, like discarded windows for frames or old tents from the Department of Environment for canvases.

                Along with his memories of the forest, the West Arichat resident said the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons, with their characters, and the quilts his partner, Karen Roy, sews also influence his work. He said it wasn’t intentional, but being surrounded by her work, his layouts and colour schemes often reflect her work.

                His passion for the natural world comes through clearly in his words and his works. All of his paintings are experiences or memories of being out on the land, paddling down a river, or in the air in a DNR helicopter. “You can tell he has been out there,” said one of the talk attendees. Each flower, tree, and critter reflects a real species that has been in that environment, even the polar bear on Sable Island. Yes, documents record polar bears as having visited the tiny island 300 km off the coast of Nova Scotia on very rare occasions.

                He considers each piece an experiment, and he’s continually working on something new. “I have so many ideas,” he said, “and when I can’t use them in a current work, I use them in the next.”

                And though he has an abundance of ideas, he does occasionally get stumped. “When that happens,” he said, “I do something familiar and something new always comes out.”

                To check out Ron Williams art, the exhibit will run until June 14^th at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts, 16080 Highway 19, Inverness. You can stop by Tuesdays to Sundays, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The West Side girls rugby sevens team won their first-ever tournament in Sydney on the weekend, going undefeated and not allowing a point scored against them. Members of the team include, from left: (front) Claire MacPherson, Skylar Shaw, Hannah Ross; (back) coach Kendra MacEachern, Leeann MacEachern, Mairinn Hart, Taylor Pringle, Zoie Cormier, Aurora MacLean, coach Mariah MacLeod.

-by Kendra MacEachern

                A new chapter in local sports was written this spring as a group of determined young women helped introduce girls’ rugby to the west side of Cape Breton, proving that hard work, dedication, and teamwork can lead to incredible success.

                Representing both Inverness Education Centre Academy and Cape Breton Highlands Academy in grades 10-12 were Leeann MacEachern, Taylor Pringle, Aurora MacLean, Zoie Cormier, Mairinn Hart, and graduates Hannah Ross, Claire MacPherson, and Skylar Shaw.

                Together, these athletes embraced a sport that was completely new to many of them and quickly turned curiosity into excellence.

                From the very beginning, the players showed an eagerness to learn. Every practice brought countless questions as they worked to understand the game and improve their skills. Their commitment was evident in every drill, every practice, and in-between every match.

                The team was fortunate to receive guidance from Mariah MacLeod, who brought valuable experience and knowledge from her rugby career at Carleton University. Her leadership helped the players develop both their understanding of the game and their confidence on the field.

                The girls finished the tournament undefeated, defeating every opponent they faced without allowing a single point against them.

                Anyone who has played or watched rugby sevens understands how extraordinary that accomplishment is. To go an entire tournament without conceding a try is a testament to the team’s determination, discipline, and defensive strength.

                Their season’s hard work was highlighted by capturing the Saltwater Smash tournament championship, earning victories over Sydney Academy, Breton Education Centre, and Glace Bay High School to bring home the trophy.

                Beyond the wins and trophies, the team developed its own identity. Their rallying cry, created by the players themselves, became a symbol of their pride and unity: “1, 2, 3, WEST!”

                Looking ahead, there is hope that School Sport Nova Scotia will establish a provincial girls’ rugby sevens league next year. The goal is not only to continue growing the sport in western Cape Breton but also to compete with the best teams across the province in the years to come.

                Congratulations to all of the players on an unforgettable season. You have made your coaches, your schools, your families, and the entire west side of Cape Breton proud. The future of girls’ rugby in our region is bright because of the foundation you have built.

                (Kendra MacEachern is the coach of the West Side girls and teaches at IECA.)