Cracking the Canadian Formula; The making of the Energy and Chemical Workers Union

Cracking the Canadian Formula is about succeeding because you are Canadian–not in spite of it. It is about Canadians doing all those things we’re not supposed to be much good at. Things like outmanoeuvring monster corporations; like standing up to Americans; like putting regional differences aside; like blowing the whistle on polluters; like rising above linguistic differences. But, most of all it’s about cracking the Canadian formula–about learning how to win on our own terms, in our own time, in our own way. No fanfare. No muss. No fuss. Cracking the Canadian Formula is not just the story of Canadians building a unique union. It is the story of how we succeed in Canada when we have the courage to try it our own way. That makes it the story of Canada so far. It also makes it a story that just might hold the secret of Canada yet to come.

Wayne Roberts was a leading North American writer, activist, and practitioner in community food security. Long-time manager of the renowned Toronto Food Policy Council, he wrote and spoke around the world on subjects relating food and cities. He served on the board of many leading food organizations, including Community Food Security Coalition, Food Secure Canada, FoodShare and Unitarian Service Committee—Seeds of Diversity.