An apparent snub from a major labour union didn't stop Toronto Mayor David Miller from stopping by the country's longest-running Labour Day parade.
While Miller has been a fixture at the annual parade since taking office, he was told to stay away last week by Toronto and York Region Labour Council president John Cartwright.
The animosity apparently stems from the way Miller handled this summer's acrimonious municipal strike, which kept 30,000 Toronto public employees off the job for 39 days.
But on Monday, as thousands of workers marched along Queen Street in the city's downtown, Miller could be seen shaking hands, posing for photographs and chatting with workers. However, he reportedly avoided speaking with city employees.
Still, Miller wasn't on every union's blacklist.
Earlier in the morning, the mayor made an official appearance at Nathan Phillips Square, where he trumpeted the city's contract to build new streetcars at a Bombardier plant in Thunder Bay, Ont.
During his speech, Miller told members of the Canadian Auto Workers that the billion-dollar contract will "keep hundreds and hundreds of your brothers and sisters working for the next 20 years."
"I want to say thank to the CAW for standing up and fighting for what's right for working people across this province and across this country," Miller said.
The mayor also said that with a federal election looming this fall, the government should be looking to protect Canadian jobs.
According to NDP Leader Jack Layton, who took part in the march, this year's parade is especially important as unemployment continues to rise and the country struggles through the worst recession in a generation.
The country's unemployment rate currently sits at about 8.6 per cent, but will likely rise in the coming months as companies continue to cut back, Statistics Canada has said.
Still, Layton said that many workers aren't able to access Employment Insurance because of stringent eligibility requirements.
With files from The Canadian Press
