Toronto, ON – Statistics Canada 2006 Census, which was released last week, contained startling information on the increasing wage gap between rich and poor and the marginalization of the shrinking middle class.

Between 1980 and 2005, the top 20% income earners increased their gains by 16% while the wages of the bottom 20% of wage earners lost 20.6% of their purchasing power. During that same time period, the median earning of a Canadian worker increased by a mere $53.00.

According to International President Thomas C. Short, “These statistics clearly indicate that successive governments in Canada have turned their backs on working families. This was not achieved by accident. Minimum wage rates frozen below the poverty lines, repeated anti-union legislation and tax breaks for the rich have all contributed to the assault on working families.

“Now more than ever,” Short added, ”the trade union movement must be politically active to ensure that working families get their fair share in an ever changing global climate.”