TORONTO - Protecting public safety through strong public services is the theme of a new billboard campaign sponsored by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
“Recent events, from the Walkerton tragedy to the Sept. 11 attacks, have underscored the critical role that public employees play in ensuring the safety and security of us all,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman. “The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness of the work public employees do and to encourage Ontarians to support strong
public services.”
Beginning Jan. 7, billboard and street-level ads will appear at a total of 112 locations in Barrie, Brampton, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Mississauga, North Bay, Orillia, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Toronto. Click
here to view the ad.
The ads feature the phrase, “Public services: Ontario’s front line of defence” beneath a photograph of typical public safety workers: a correctional officer, a workplace health and safety inspector, a public health laboratory technologist, a transportation enforcement officer, and an office administration worker.
Ontario safety issues were in the spotlight in November when provincial auditor Erik Peters said the government had mismanaged road safety. He also reported on “critical” deficiencies in Ontario meat and fresh produce inspection. Those programs have been cut drastically under the current government. In 1995, Ontario had 150 full-time provincial
meat inspectors; today there are eight. In 1996, Ontario laid off all 20 of its fruit and vegetable inspectors.
Peters’ report came just after the government laid off the last five public health scientists at its central public health lab in Etobicoke. The five were experts on various biohazards, including West Nile virus, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the Walkerton strain of E. coli.
OPSEU is calling on the public to support public employees in the current round of collective bargaining in the Ontario Public Service.
“The foundation of the public service, and of public safety, is people, whether they be probation and parole officers, or environmental officers, or scientists, or ambulance dispatch operators,” said Casselman. “We protect the public interest when we support the people on the front lines.”
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For more information:
Don Ford (416) 448-7442; (416) 788-9104 (cell)
Randy Robinson (416) 448-7441; (416) 788-9134 (cell)
