Ontario Liberal government’s first budget is just a baby step towards rebuilding public services, said Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
“While a good start, the Liberals still have promises to keep, and miles to go before they can sleep. Eight years of dangerous public service cuts can’t be fixed in one day or one budget,” Casselman said.
She also had a warning for the Liberals: “Freezing or flat-lining the budgets of 15 line ministries is dead wrong. How can you cut the Ministry of Agriculture and Food after Aylmer? How do you ignore the Ministry of Transportation when trucks are flying apart on our highways?
“The burden of rebuilding public services should not be placed on our public employees. Everyone must pay for improved public services,” Casselman said. “Over the past decade OPSEU members already gave, and gave again, at the office.”
Casselman gave the Liberals some credit for finding $10 billion in additional revenue to rebuild public services. “This government, while struggling with the Tory deficit, understands that we can’t have 2005 public services on 1995 revenues,” she said.
“The health care system desperately needs cash, but the new health care premium is not progressive – it will hit working people much harder than the rich,” she said.
“The Liberals ought to have had the courage to simply raise income taxes, and scrap the costly private hospital deals.”
OPSEU represents 100,000 members who work in the Ontario Public Service, community colleges, hospitals, social services and other transfer payment agencies.
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For further information:
David Cox, OPSEU Communications: (416) 788-9197
To view the budget on line, click here
