Job losses confirms Wynne’s minimum wage killing jobs

Ontario has seen the highest monthly decline in jobs since 2009, the same month that Wynne implemented a job killing minimum wage hike.

“Kathleen Wynne was warned by experts that her overnight minimum wage hike would put our most vulnerable people out of work. She was warned, and she ignored them purely for political purposes,” said Ontario PC Economic Development Critic Monte McNaughton. “Now we see more young people out of a job.”

The survey reaffirms the findings of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce report released only days ago, which found low labour force participation, low business confidence, and declining revenue of small businesses.

“Over one third of people in our province have stopped looking for work, while opportunity has been stagnant outside of Toronto and Ottawa since the recession,” said McNaughton. “Kathleen Wynne’s only objective with her minimum wage hike was to hold onto power and as a result, things are getting worse.”

Statistics Canada reports that massive job losses are disproportionately hitting youth, who experienced job loss at a rate of 6.5 times higher than the rest of the population, and women, who saw their employment drop at 4 times the rate of Ontario’s men.

“The economic policies of this government are reckless and unfair. The talented, hardworking and innovative people of this province deserve better,” summarized McNaughton.