NOTICE

The Tim Hudak/Randy Hillier Tories recently released their labour relations reforms titled “Paths to Prosperity: Flexible Labour Markets.”

The party with no ideas and an absentee leader has come clean on their vision for a low wage Ontario. For good measure his reforms take shots at injured workers and the WSIB head Elizabeth Witmer. But that’s no way to run a province.

It’s the same old formula. Attack unions and demonize the middle class. Without good ideas just revert to dissension. Count on anger. Separate Ontarians rather than unite them. Destroy instead of build. Hudak and his colleagues must be such an unhappy, frustrated bunch. They really do need help, but not the kind offered by trusted advisor MPP Randy Hillier.

Really Mr. Hudak: Randy Hillier as Labour critic? Isn’t this the same guy who didn’t pay taxes and then blamed his spouse for the oversight? As a former leader of the Landowner’s Association, isn’t he the same anti-establishment crusader who railed against the government he now wants to be part of? Every member of your caucus that I have spoken to has assured me that Hillier is a rogue at the fringes, a real embarrassment, everyone that is but you. But you have had so little to say lately.

Take the McGuinty-imposed demise of our horseracing industry. This attacks the heart of rural Ontario. Meanwhile, unions like OPSEU have worked hand-in-hand with the salt-of-the-earth rural folks who are trying to make a living doing work they know and love.

That’s what unions are about. They want for all what they seek for themselves: justice, fairness and a livable wage. Unions are also a voice for the middle class. Just look south where “right to work” states have destroyed unions. These states are struggling most. As union density shrinks, the middle class disappears. Rather than inspire the unity needed during challenging times, the Hudak/Hillier Tories would rather divide and conquer, blame instead of build.

Ontario needs a visionary leader that promotes business, labour and government working together for the good of all. We must do more than co-exist. We must cooperate and put Ontario first.

With Hudak’s weak-kneed leadership it is no wonder the Premier scoffs at accountability. Ontario deserves better. By parking egos and working together we’ll turn the “race to the bottom” into a sprint to the winner’s circle. That is our vision for Ontario. That is the Ontario way.

Warren (Smokey) Thomas