Unifor members are skilled and qualified workers who manufacture and develop life-saving cancer equipment, such as external beam therapy units, self-contained blood irradiators, and cyclotrons for hospitals, medical and research facilities. They want to get back to their jobs, but deserve to do so safely and be treated with respect by their employer.

WHO ARE WE? 

Unifor Local 1541 members work at the Best Theratronics manufacturing facility in Kanata, Ont. We have been on strike since May 1, 2024.

Unifor members manufacture and develop life-saving cancer equipment, such as external beam therapy units, self-contained blood irradiators, and cyclotrons for hospitals, medical and research facilities.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

  • Members went on strike after Best Theratronics owner and proclaimed millionaire Krishnan Suthanthiran offered workers a two-year contract with zero wage increases. The company has refused to bargain since then. 
  • Unifor filed an Unfair Labour Practice against the company for bargaining in bad faith.
  • Suthanthiran, who has been pegged as “Canada’s worst boss,” sent numerous anti-union communications including an email rant on the Victoria Day long weekend, painting Canadian workers as entitled and lazy.
  • Both Unifor and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (which also has members at BT) continue to have ongoing safety concerns about the site. Recently, Unifor members witnessed and documented improper transport of nuclear materials. In June, Unifor and the PSAC alerted the Canadian Safety Nuclear Commission of their concerns of non-union, managers and scab labour working with live radioactive materials.

RESIDENTS SHOULDN’T HAVE TO CLEAN UP AFTER CANADA’S WORST BOSS

In 2011, the Suthanthiran-owned company Best Medical Belgium Inc. (BMB) began operating in Belgium. BMB’s operations immediately ran into financial trouble and the company went bankrupt. According to a local media report at the time , “[a] quantity of nuclear waste was discovered during a post-bankruptcy inspection at the site,” and that it had been stored in plastic bags.

In 2017, Belgium sought assistance from Canada under a mutual legal assistance treaty. The counsel for the Attorney General of Canada, on behalf of Belgium, obtained a warrant authorizing the search of Best Theratronics’ offices in Canada for records relating to what Belgium regarded as “criminal transactions,” according to a summary filed to the Superior Court of Justice

The Best Theratronics’ Canadian premises were searched, and records were seized.

  • Suthanthiran heads both TeamBest Global Companies  and Best Medical Belgium Inc. (BMB Inc.)
  • Suthanthiran’s company and its actions raised safety concerns in Belgium. His leadership led to insolvency at that location, and he abandoned the site. 
  • He claimed financial losses at both.
  • Nuclear  waste was left at the site and Belgium on the hook for environmental cleanup. 
  • In Kanata, there has been no activity at this plant for months. It appears that your neighbour, Best Theratronics’ CEO Krishnan Suthanthiran, has possibly left his plant at 413 March Rd. without the adequate required maintenance or attention. As part of its normal operations prior to the dispute, amounts of depleted uranium were temporarily stored at the facility.

Unifor does not want the citizens of Kanata to face another Belgium situation. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen in our community, too! 

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

  • Join our picket line by visiting the Best Theratronics facility at 413 March Rd., Kanata, Ont., K2K 0E4.
  • Contact the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to ask them what they've done. 1-888-229-2672 or 
    @email.
  • Donate to support the striking workers. 

News