TORONTO
– Comments by
Conservative leader John
Tory are offensive and
betray an ignorance of
what public servants
actually do, says the
Ontario Public Service
Employees Union.
OPSEU
President Warren
(Smokey) Thomas said the
unelected Tory was
trying desperately to
stay on the political
map. Tory was quoted as
saying Ontario needs to
cut public servants who
just sit around
“analyzing each other’s
papers” and “breathing
each other's exhaust.”
The
Ontario Public Service,
far from being bloated,
was chopped so much by
former Premier Mike
Harris that it can
hardly perform its core
functions, Thomas said.
“Tory is
getting upstaged by his
rival Mr. Flaherty, and
so he has to say
something to get into
the news, but this is
ridiculous,” said
Thomas. “Mike Harris cut
anything that could be
cut, and then some. We
saw the results –massive
cuts in services, some
leading to tragedy.”
The
Ontario Public Service
was cut by Harris from
roughly 65,000 unionized
workers to about 41,000.
“The
people who work so hard
as correctional
officers, transportation
enforcement officers,
and conservation
officers don’t need
this. Those who keep our
water clean, dispatch
our ambulances, or keep
our public documents
secure, for example,
don’t deserve this.”
The
Liberals have made a
very small start at
restoring services, the
union says, but it’s no
time to go backwards.
“Reinvestments in the
public services that
people in Ontario depend
on are still essential.”
