|
December 14, 2006
Union bake sale helping
MNR
Gord Young -
North Bay Nugget -
http://www.nugget.ca/webapp/sitepages/
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union will
hold bake sales today in North Bay, Timmins and
Hearst, to help raise money for the
cash-strapped Ministry of Natural Resources.
Dave Fluri, a union steward with OPSEU Local
635, said members in North Bay want to raise at
least enough money to fill one enforcement
vehicle with gasoline.
"We want to raise as much as we can . . . but 20
or 30 bucks for a tank of gas would be nice,"
said Fluri, noting the union is trying to
organize a cheque presentation for Friday to
Nipis-sing MPP Monique Smith.
The union said morale at the ministry is at an
all-time low due to years of cutbacks, with
operating funds for 2006-07 down more than $25
million, or more than five per cent, from
2005-06. The cuts have reduced park staffing,
curtailed fish and wildlife enforcement and
forced many offices to close their doors to the
public, OPSEU said.
The union has said operating expenses for
conservation officers are about 50 per cent of
what they were last year, forcing some offices
to ration fuel for their patrol vehicles.
"It's pretty sad when a ministry of the Ontario
government can't even afford to put gas in its
vehicle," Fluri said, noting the bake sale
concept is a reflection of the level of
frustration among workers.
He said a bottle drive has also been suggested
by some union members to help illustrate just
how desperate the situation is for the ministry
in Northern Ontario.
The bake sales are part of the union's "Save the
MNR" campaign to protest the cuts to ministry
spending. Union members at MNR offices are also
wearing black every Thursday, meeting with local
MPPs and signing petitions for presentation in
the Ontario Legislature.
Fluri said MNR employees care about quality
wildlife management and are at their wits' end
after years of cuts that have left absolutely no
room to trim any further.
Meanwhile, he said Ontario politicians are
giving themselves a 25 per cent pay raise, money
that would be better spend on the province's
natural resources.
|
