What started with the inclusion of a land acknowledgment in the last collective agreement between MGEU and Red River College (RRC) Polytechnic, grew into a new, collaborative approach to ensure future collective agreements incorporate the principles of Truth and Reconciliation.

The recently ratified collective agreement for Local 73, effective 2025 – 2028, allows for more inclusive understandings of language, family, leaves, and sickness and health—all of which are rooted in Indigenous knowledge and ways of being.

This collaborative bargaining process was precedent-setting in the post-secondary education sector across the country. The unique process applied a critical and informed lens to the collective agreement, brought people together under the guidance of Kookum Barbara Bruce (Flies High Thunderbird and Truth Talker), and looked for ways to change and improve the language of the agreement that advanced reconciliation.

“This new agreement represents a meaningful step toward reconciliation and is an example of how we can use the opportunities presented through collective bargaining to make the lives of workers and their communities better” said Kyle Ross, President of the MGEU. “We are proud of what has been achieved through our collaboration with Red River College Polytech, guided by the leadership and knowledge of Elder Barbara Bruce and are excited to see how these changes help members feel more respected, supported and included.”

During the previous round of bargaining, MGEU and the employer committed to developing a Truth and Reconciliation Working Group that would review the collective agreement. With guidance from Kookum Barbara Bruce, who grounded the review in Indigenous Knowledge Protocols, the eight-member group created 21 recommendations, many of which were adopted.

Some of the ways these changes appear in the agreement include:

  • Using inclusive language used throughout the agreement, removing binary pronouns and binary parental leave language
  • Broadening the definition of family
  • Expanding bereavement leave for someone who is like family but not a blood relative
  • Adopting a holistic view of health

On Monday, January 26, at an event held at Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, the MGEU and RRC Polytech signed a Memorandum of Agreement that captures each party’s commitment to continuing the Truth and Reconciliation Working Group. By doing so, the MGEU and RRC Polytech will continue to keep reconciliation at the heart of collective bargaining in ways that help workers and the community.