Hudak's job killing plan will dismember the provincial economy: OPSEU

TORONTO, May 9, 2014 /CNW/ - Tim Hudak's plan to eliminate 100,000 jobs in the public sector will dismember the Ontario economy and sets the scene to drive the province into another recession, the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union said today.

"We always knew Hudak's positions on a score of issues were extremist, but a job-killing plan on this scale will help destroy the economic health of communities across Ontario," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "Twenty years ago his mentor, Mike Harris, pledged to eliminate 13,000 jobs in the public sector and where did that path lead? To Walkerton; to a breakdown in meat inspections and to privatized giveaways like Highway 407.

"The people of Ontario want to build our economy starting with strong public services that strengthen the communities in which they live. Hudak's plan will take us in the opposite direction altogether. It's a reckless recipe for doom."

Thomas questioned where Hudak's job-killing scheme would cut deepest. He predicted that health care, education, colleges and universities and child care services would be hit the hardest.

"Those are sectors of the economy that touch every city, town and village across Ontario," said Thomas. "This so-called plan by Hudak is guaranteed to leave a deep economic scar across the length and breadth of our province. No one will escape the harm it causes to families and their communities."

Thomas said it will be interesting to watch candidates for the Progressive Conservatives on the campaign trail going door-to-door to deliver the news that there's a good chance that a family member, neighbour or friend could become an unemployed victim of Hudak's plan.

SOURCE: Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931