From the NDP
Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton on Thursday put the wrap on a successful fall session of the Legislature for his party by criticizing the McGuinty government for its continuing failure to address Ontario’s growing jobs crisis.
“When we began the session three months ago, the global economy was beginning to show serious cracks,” noted Hampton. “[But] what began as a crisis has quickly moved into a recession, and now some economists are suggesting we might even see a depression.
“Frankly, the McGuinty government should have seen the storm clouds on the horizon. The government could have, and should have, done a much better job of protecting Ontario workers from this economic downturn, but it did not,” Hampton charged.
“The McGuinty government failed.”
Hampton pointed to the government’s complete inability to stem the massive job losses in Ontario’s manufacturing and resource industries. More than 270,000 manufacturing jobs and 40,000 forestry jobs have been lost across the province.
“New Democrats stood in this Legislature each and every day during the fall session holding the government accountable and fighting for real action to sustain these vanishing manufacturing and forestry jobs,” said Hampton.
“The job losses aren’t just numbers. These are people—hard-working Ontarians—with mortgages or rent to pay, car loans to make, food to put on the table, and kids to put through school.”
Hampton, who will step down as leader in early March after more than 12 years at the helm, vowed New Democrats will continue to hold the government’s feet to the fire.
“The McGuinty government will try to duck, dodge, and distract away from the real issues, but Ontarians can count on New Democrats to continue to stand up for them during these difficult economic times,” he remarked.
“We’ll make sure that Ontarians who’ve worked hard and played by the rules, but who are now struggling to get by, have a voice— just as they’ve had during this fall session.”
