Two Brockville agencies, striking workers to return to bargaining table after nearly 12 weeks

After almost 12 weeks of unionized staff striking, employers at Brockville Area Community Living (BACLA) and Children’s Mental Health of Leeds and Grenville (CMHLG) have agreed to resume talks overseen by an independent mediator.

The summer-long strike of nearly 4,000 OPSEU employees has been going since May 25 in communities across Ontario, with workers from as many as 21 other agencies still left picketing with no offers from employers to resume talks.

BACLA and CMHLG are the first to return to the bargaining table in Leeds and Grenville, while Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health (LLGAMH) has not yet offered to resume talks with its staff.

During the strike, critical services offered by the agencies have been paused, affecting clients’ ability to access services and assistance.

“Our members’ hearts break as we continue to see the most vulnerable in our community suffer. Our members want to be back at work assisting those who need these services,” said Bargaining Team Chair Magean Plue in a statement put out by OPSEU Local 441 on Friday.

On top of the shutdown in services caused by the strike, the Brockville Hart Hub is facing opening delays, further straining the situation.

“The community continues to reel from a lack of dedicated mental health services,” the statement said.
“The Hart Hub, which has faced repeated delays due to funding agreements and landlord issues, could face further delays due to staff being on strike and unable to provide services. The wider community has been calling for an end to this labour dispute and for the Hart Hub to hit its revised target open date of September 2026.”

Union members have repeatedly cited chronic underfunding from the Ford government, as well as what they see as funds being misallocated by employers, as a major driver of grievances.

Local MPP Steve Clark insists that his focus remains on his constituents and recently told Brockvilleist that that included funds to improve care at hospitals, attaching 11,000 patients to team-based primary care and announcing the future construction of new schools.

While LLGAMH staff remain on the picket line for now, the scheduled return to talks for BACLA and CMHLG represents the most movement towards ending the dispute since the strike began.

In the statement, OPSEU staff representative Alex Lane pointed to two agencies in Hamilton that recently reached agreements through mediation-arbitration as evidence that all those represented by Local 441 could get there eventually as well.

“We are committed to finding a pathway forward that gives everyone the best shot at ending this dispute. We believe that bringing in a private mediator with the skills to find common ground and get these valued services back up and serving our community is the best path forward,” said Lane in the statement.

“Brockville has always been described as a little town with a big heart,” said Plue.

“It’s time we recognize that our community needs the parties to put their best foot forward and come to a timely resolution.”