The province’s proposal to put billions of dollars into
infrastructure renewal should not preclude investment in critical
services such as job training and health care, the president of the
Ontario Public Service Employees Union said today.
Warren (Smokey) Thomas today renewed his call for an
economic summit to unite the three pillars of the Ontario economy –
business, labour and government – to come together as a team to help the
ailing economy,
While Thomas welcomed the provincial government’s
intention to rebuild roads, transit and bridges, but he said the
so-called “soft” services for families cannot be ignored.
“Don’t cut critical community services in order to fund
other jobs,” Thomas said, noting that more than 20 per cent of the
workforce in Ontario is public sector. “The best chance of achieving a
balanced approach is by drafting a strategy with all key players in the
economy.”
Public agencies involved in retraining the unemployed
people are seeing their caseloads increase at a dramatic rate. Community
colleges are turning away students as enrollment increases, and
hospitals are laying off staff. There are already signs of division as
cashed-strapped social services agencies and educational institutions
vie for government funding in the face of huge demand for their
services.
“There are good people on the ground who want to help,
but they need the resources,” Thomas said. “Let’s rebuild the social
infrastructure of the economy and get the province on the road to
recovery.”
OPSEU has proposed a five-point “good jobs” strategy to
weather the storm, enhancing public services and guaranteeing retraining
for a new economy. The economic development portfolios of provincial
government ministries should be enhanced to fill a leadership role,
Thomas said.
“The current economic crisis demands that all key
players in the provincial economy sit down together to put forward a
strategy we can all agree on,” Thomas said. “Working together as a team
is better than each of us working separately.”
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