MPP Arnott demands action plan on manufacturing jobs

On the first day that the Ontario Legislature resumed sitting after the Winter Recess, Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott continued to call upon the Provincial Government for a signal of hope directed towards employees and families affected by the massive loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario. He made specific reference to the 1,100 jobs that are being lost in Kitchener at BF Goodrich Tire. He is insisting that the Government develop a jobs action plan. Mr. Arnott addressed the House on February 13th:

Mr. Ted Arnott (Waterloo–Wellington): The BF Goodrich tire factory, located in the Kitchener part of Waterloo–Wellington, announced 11 days ago that it will close its doors this summer. Eleven hundred jobs are being lost as a result of the company’s decision.

I want to say to all of the BF Goodrich employees and their families that all in our community share your disappointment. We are behind you, and we want to do whatever we can to help. My thoughts are also on the negative impact this will have on our local economy. Even though Waterloo Region is home to one of the most dynamic and thriving local economies in the whole country, the loss of eleven hundred jobs is a massive blow.

The same day that I received the news about the closure of the BF Goodrich tire plant, I spoke with Wayne Samuelson—who used to work there and now, of course, is the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour—to discuss the situation. What employees and their families need is a signal that there is hope that well-paying jobs will be created in this province to replace the ones that have been lost. What they see instead is Ontario’s manufacturing jobs disappearing in droves.

Statistics Canada recently reported that 145,000 Canadian manufacturing jobs disappeared in the last year. We know that most of these losses have occurred in Ontario, because we are still the main industrial engine of the country. An incredible 33,000 jobs in Ontario were lost in the month of January alone.

Last May, I introduced a resolution in this House calling for a public discussion of the economic competitiveness of Ontario’s manufacturing industries which would lead to a jobs action plan. My resolution was supported by a number of industry groups. The Ontario government needs to take immediate action and begin the work to restore hope and opportunity in this province and enact my resolution.

(Mr. Arnott’s resolution on jobs reads as follows: That in the opinion of this House, the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs should immediately begin an investigation into Ontario’s industrial and economic competitiveness, to develop an action plan to maintain and expand our domestic and international markets in the coming years.

It is supported by: the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Canada’s Chemical Producers, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the CD Howe Institute, the Employers’ Advocacy Council, and the Ontario Real Estate Association.)