February 5th, 2016

Job numbers show Liberals letting Ontarians down: NDP

Catherine Fife, Ontario NDP Finance Critic and MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo,  responded to new jobs numbers released today by Statistics Canada. She said the numbers show that the Liberal government is letting Ontarians down and failing to protect and create good paying jobs.

 “Good, stable jobs are disappearing and people are feeling more and more worried about their family’s future” said Fife. “This is true for people whose jobs are at risk after a lifetime of service; for young people who’ve graduated from Ontario’s colleges and universities with a mountain of debt and uncertain prospects; and for business owners who are finding it harder to balance their books.”

Eight Ontario cities saw their unemployment rates increase since last month. Windsor had the highest unemployment rate in the country for the 6th consecutive month—as well as the highest youth unemployment rate for nearly as long. Sudbury and Niagara are not far behind.

 “Families in regions across the province deserve better from their government.  Ontario still lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to youth unemployment. Young people deserve better, ” said Fife.

 Fife, who has been travelling the province as part of a legislative committee gathering input from Ontarians for the provincial budget, said that high hydro prices are killing growth in our vulnerable manufacturing and automotive sectors. She pointed to numbers that show Ontario lost 3,000 manufacturing jobs since last month. Her own region of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge lost 7,000 manufacturing jobs since last year.

 “Unfortunately, the Liberal government isn’t getting the message. They’re  choosing to ignore public calls to stop the sell-off of Hydro One, just as they are refusing to stop firing nurses and to stop cuts to frontline healthcare,” said Fife.

 “The Labour Force survey isn’t about abstract numbers. It’s about people. It shows just how badly this Liberal government is letting Ontarians down by failing to protect and create good paying jobs across the North and in communities that depend on the manufacturing and automotive sectors for their survival.”