From the NDP
Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton is calling on Dalton McGuinty to stand up to big forestry companies and protect Northern Ontario’s public hydro and forestry assets.
“Over the past four years, Northern Ontario’s economy has been hit by wave after wave of forest-sector job losses,” noted Hampton. “More than 10,000 direct forestry jobs and thousands more indirect ones are gone.
“It’s time Dalton McGuinty realized the severity of what’s happening here,” Hampton added. “He can start by standing up to the big forestry companies that are taking our workers and our resources for granted.”
In the wake of news that AbitibiBowater’s hydro dams in Iroquois Falls, Kenora, and Fort Frances are for sale, Hampton is demanding the McGuinty government intervene to protect hydro and forestry assets that are in the public interest.
“Other governments understand what’s happening and they are taking decisive action,” he said. “The McGuinty government doesn’t need to commission another report or hire another expert.
“It needs to do what is in the best interest of Northern Ontario, and that means standing up to these big multi-nationals.”
