BURNABY – Striking public service workers in British Columbia have expanded pickets at provincial liquor and cannabis stores again, adding 20 more locations to the list.
The B.C. General Employees’ Union says the escalation also includes job action by front-line staff at several ministry offices.
It says more than 17,000 public service workers are now taking job action across the province, which is half the 34,000 workers represented by the union.
A joint statement from the BC Coroners Service and Ministry of Public Safety says the ongoing job action has forced the postponement of an inquest into the deaths of a family of four that was scheduled to begin on Monday.
The province says the coroners’ inquest into the deaths of Janet Nguyen, Christopher Duong, Alexander and Harlan Duong has been tentatively rescheduled for Oct. 14, but there still could be a “risk” of job action on the revised date.
Union president Paul Finch says in a statement that every day the government delays, pressure on public services will grow, and it will continue to step up its job action until the province comes back to bargaining table with a fair wage offer.
Finch has said his members will be outside the legislature on Monday just as the fall session begins and the union enters its sixth week of job action.
Talks on Monday broke down not long after they started, with the union saying the new provincial offer had few meaningful changes, while government officials have said they are trying to balance a fair deal with B.C.‘s constrained fiscal situation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2025.
