Ghost budget falls flat on job creation and energy security

OTTAWA, March 21, 2013 /CNW/ - "Ten years too late, the Tories have discovered their economic policies have destroyed Canada's manufacturing sector, including hundreds of paper mill towns," says Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, "but today's budget lays out a vacuous plan that falls flat when it comes to job creation and skills training."

"Minister Flaherty and the Conservatives have missed yet another opportunity to give a leg up to the decimated manufacturing sector, choosing instead to re-package previous short-sighted plans to replace good, family-supporting jobs with part-time, precarious work."

CEP represents 120,000 Canadian workers in key parts of the economy, including forestry, energy, telecommunications, media and construction. About half of those work in skilled trades.

"Our union has long-called for a national strategy to help boost the forest industry through investment in new products and value-added jobs," says Coles.

"Tens of thousands of displaced forestry workers have been seeking training and jobs, and today's budget throws them a few crumbs… $92 million over two years is a joke. To rebuild one pulp mill is a couple of billion dollars.

"Minister Flaherty also wasted an opportunity to create jobs in the energy sector by ignoring calls for a national energy strategy that would see our country's oil resources drive job creation here in Canada through the construction of a pan-Canadian pipeline, refineries, upgraders and increased exports to secure energy security.

"Instead, the measures in today's budget are a job killer," says Coles. There is no money for job creation, only more plans to export our resources."

SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY AND PAPERWORKERS UNION OF CANADA

Dave Coles [phone]