Throughout history, Canadian employees have experienced low wages, unfair treatment (especially towards women), unsafe working conditions, and simply lacked basic human rights. But thankfully many events in the past one hundred & forty years have shaped the work environment of today into a much better place.

The labour movement in Nova Scotia may be traced back to late 18th century. Starting in 1972, the Toronto Typographical Union went on strike, eventually this strike lead to the legalization of unions, and Labour Day was recognized as a national holiday. The recognition of Labour Day is one of the most important events in history. It is also one of the most well-known events in history. Labour Day is such an important holiday because we have a day to celebrate the important contributions working people made to our economy in the past. By 1900 the Federal Department of Labour was established. This was a very important event because this department was responsible for decisions and was the go-to department when problems started to arose. Before this department was established workers didn’t have the freedom/opportunity to take their problems that may have occurred on the job to someone that could have handled the issue.

1914 was an important year because the Workmen’s Compensation act was established. Before this was established employees would sue their employers if they were injured on the job. But from this day forward, employees give up their right to sue in exchange for compensation, this way it creates a lot less stress for both the employer and the employee.

In the 1930’s the working world was taking a turn for the worse. The economy was suffering and thousands of Canadians were out of a job for a long period of time. But thankfully within a few years corporations were developed and helped along the recovery from the Great