June 2,
2006
MNR swings axe at parks
Ontario’s
provincial parks are being hit with staff cuts that will wipe
out an estimated 19 per cent of the summer workforce.
Both seasonal and
student jobs are being hit hard as the Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR) chops weeks off work contracts, reduces weekly
hours for some jobs, fails to fill vacancies, and abolishes
some positions altogether.
“We are telling
everyone we talk to that these cuts are unnecessary, unwise,
and unacceptable,” OPSEU president Leah Casselman told a
Queen’s Park news conference this morning. “We are asking
people to contact the Minister, David Ramsay (dramsay.mpp@liberal.ola.org),
and tell him to reverse these cuts immediately.”
The MNR has not
provided the union with a park-by-park breakdown of the cuts,
but reports from OPSEU locals paint a scary picture.
Park interpretive
staff are being cut back. Park wardens are being cut back.
Park stores are closing or cutting their hours of operation.
Some parks will shut their gates early at the end of the
summer.
“These cuts
compromise nature education, park safety, recreational
opportunities, and convenience for all park users,” Casselman
said.
Park maintenance
will also be affected, she added.
“Park users who
expect clean bathrooms, frequent garbage pick-up,
well-maintained trails, and easy access to information may be
disappointed this summer.”
Casselman was
joined at the news conference by Elaine Bagnall, OPSEU chair
of the Ministry Enforcement and Renewal Committee (MERC) for
MNR. In a letter Thursday, Casselman and Bagnall sent details
of the cuts to some 80 park-related interest groups.
Contacting all MPPs is next.
“We oppose these
cuts, and this summer we intend to enlist the aid of all
Ontarians in opposing these cuts.”
For more
information, contact any member of the MNR MERC team:
Put an end to highway privatization!
Sign our petition
As outlined in
FRONTlines (April 6), the Ministry of Transportation of
Ontario has plans in the works to contract out highway
maintenance in the form of giant contracts up to 20 years
long. These contracts, called Area Term Contracts (ATCs),
would involve not only maintenance, but also road
reconstruction within the contract area.
ATCs could wipe
out the job of every OPSEU member in the Highway Management
Division. To join the campaign to stop them, please sign the
online petition at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ATC_Petition/
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To find out more,
contact the MTO MERC:
Original
authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
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June 2, 2006 Issue of
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