Vancouver, B.C. – Canada’s first unemployment clock will be unveiled on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, May 6 at 11 a.m. The National Unemployment Clock, which will offer a real-time count of job loss in Canada, is mounted on a truck and will travel from Ottawa to Vancouver throughout the month-long campaign. It will make designated stops along the way, providing people across the country with the opportunity to add their support through community events, a petition and other grassroots initiatives.

This campaign is focused on raising awareness about the danger of continuing to allow large corporations, like TELUS, to take jobs out of Canada and move them abroad. It was developed to help bring Canadians together in a movement that demands local, provincial and federal governments step in and put a stop to the offshoring of jobs, a practice that is a key contributor to the growing unemployment crisis in Canada.

Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) is sponsoring this national awareness campaign.

PRESS CONFERENCE: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - TIME: 11 a.m. (EST)

LOCATION: 130 S, Charles Lynch Room, Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa

SPEAKERS:
John Carpenter, TWU Vice President
NDP International Trade Critic, Peter Julian, MP (Burnaby-New Westminster)
Hassan Yussuff, Canadian Labour Congress Secretary-Treasurer

VISUAL: TWU Vice President John Carpenter with the National Unemployment Clock.

INTERVIEWS: TWU representatives will be available for interviews immediately
following the unveiling of the National Unemployment Clock.

Additional Information
The first official community stop that the National Unemployment Clock will be at is the TELUS Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, May 7 at 10:30 a.m. at the National Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa.

Media kits will be provided at the unveiling of the National Unemployment Clock, at the TELUS AGM or can be downloaded at www.keepjobsincanada.ca.

For further information or to set up interviews with TWU Vice President John Carpenter or TWU Representative Diane Pepin, please contact Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies Inc. at 604-303-1052, 604-787-7379 (cell) or at ruth@ahacreative.com. Please note: Ruth works on Eastern Standard Time and is available if/when you need to speak with her.