Fred Hahn, President of the Ontario Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), speaks at a press conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on July 16, 2018.MARK BLINCH/The Canadian Press
The board of Canada’s largest public-sector union says it cannot force its general vice-president to resign, after previously calling for Fred Hahn to step down in light of a video he posted to social media that sparked accusations of antisemitism.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ national executive board last month passed a motion that said it lost confidence in Mr. Hahn’s ability to represent the union and called for him to resign from his role.
But Mr. Hahn, who is also the president of CUPE Ontario, rebuffed the request, saying he rejects the charge of antisemitism and that he was sad and angry that he has been asked to resign after being democratically elected. The executive board of CUPE Ontario also recently passed two motions expressing support for Mr. Hahn in his roles.
In a note to members sent late Friday, CUPE National’s leaders said while the non-confidence motion remains in place, Mr. Hahn has also said he won’t resign and as a result he remains a general vice-president elected by members from Ontario.
“Under CUPE’s current constitution, both these contradictory realities can exist,” said the note from national president Mark Hancock and national secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick.
Karine Fortin, a spokeswoman for CUPE, said the union will not give interviews or make additional comments about Mr. Hahn or the issues discussed in the statement.
Mr. Hahn issued a statement Friday that said the national union had recognized “union democracy must be respected.”
“I’ve respected CUPE National’s internal process because I love this union and our members,” he said.
The controversy stemmed from a video Mr. Hahn posted on Facebook on Aug. 11 that shows an Olympic diver with a Star of David tattoo jumping into the water and later appearing to turn into a bomb. The scene then shows a street of destruction and crying children.
Mr. Hahn deleted the video, noting in an Aug. 18 Facebook post that he understood it “caused pain for some who viewed it.”
Mr. Hahn, who last year also faced calls to resign after celebrating the “power of resistance” when Hamas militants killed Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, has also prompted political backlash from Premier Doug Ford and his Labour Minister David Piccini.
Mr. Ford called Mr. Hahn “disgusting” and said he made “bigoted comments” that are unacceptable in Ontario and called on him to step aside. Mr. Piccini also posted a social-media video of himself confronting Mr. Hahn at a recent conference.
In the note to members, CUPE’s leaders said they are “deeply saddened” to have heard from members about the profound hurt that has been caused by the conflict within the union.
“We have seen a conservative, anti-worker government use this moment to attack and attempt to further divide us by interfering in internal union business. None of this has been good for CUPE, or for the labour movement generally,” it said.
The note says that with a federal election potentially around the corner, “we must be united in the face of Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives and their anti-worker agenda.”
The union leaders said they will also undergo training on antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism to further understand the issues.