NDP: Jobs numbers don’t tell the whole story

QUEEN’S PARK – NDP Energy and Education Critic Peter Tabuns says new job numbers released this morning only tell a partial story about working life in Ontario.

“While we cautiously welcome improvements in the unemployment rate, people deserve good paying jobs no matter where they live in the province,” said Tabuns this morning at Queen’s Park. “Unfortunately, we see that some regions in our province aren’t doing as well as others. Unemployment is getting worse in places like Ottawa, Kingston, Sudbury, Peterborough, London, Windsor, and Thunder Bay.”

The new employment numbers released by Stats Canada this morning show a relatively stable work force in Ontario, but don’t provide details about many important factors.

“The reality is that too many Ontarians are facing hard decisions about whether to pay their hydro bills or to put food on the table. People are feeling more and more worried about their family’s future,” said Tabuns, the MPP for Toronto-Danforth. “Too many young people have graduated from Ontario’s colleges and universities with a mountain of debt and uncertain prospects. The lucky ones have found jobs, but too often that employment is temporary and precarious.”

Tabuns says the current push by the Wynne Liberals to sell-off Hydro One will only make things worse.

“Ontarians deserve a government that puts their needs ahead of Bay Street investors,” said Tabuns. “They need a government that protects good jobs, and works to make life more affordable.”