TORONTO - The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is voicing a strong protest against a new Ontario government plan to do extensive background checks on over 2,000 public employees.
Management Board Secretariat says public employees working with birth certificates, driver’s licenses and health cards who do not submit to intrusive checks may be removed from their jobs.
“As a correctional officer, I know the value of security checks, but the government has not produced any evidence that these particular checks will enhance public security,” said OPSEU president Leah Casselman. “What they will certainly do is invade the privacy of public employees and give their employer a new excuse to
dismiss and discipline workers for reasons unrelated to security.
“Protecting individuals from the arbitrary action of governments is a basic principle of our legal system,” said Casselman. “The fact that other countries are at war does not give Ernie Eves the right to suspend civil liberties in Ontario.”
A stronger public service is the best guarantee against security threats, she said.
“Today’s public service is overrun by private consultants, temporary agency employees, and fee-for-service workers who have no long-term commitment to the public service,” said Casselman. “The real issue facing us today is how we restore the capacity of the public service to protect the public in all areas. We need
protection against poisoned drinking water, biohazards, air pollution, and workplace deaths, as well as criminal threats.”
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For more information:
Randy Robinson (416) 788-9134
Katie FitzRandolph (416) 448-7440
