McGuinty Liberal Government ignored prudent warnings about the loss of manufacturing jobs says MPP Arnott
The Ontario PC Caucus is continuing to highlight the massive number of job losses that are hitting the manufacturing sector, as well as the need for positive action to protect these jobs. The following is the text of the statement made by MPP Ted Arnott in the Ontario Legislature on May 29th, 2007:
Mr. Ted Arnott (Waterloo–Wellington): Sylvia Jones in Dufferin-Caledon, Michael Harris in Kitchener-Conestoga and John Rutherford in Perth-Wellington, as well as the rest of John Tory's team, understand that we need to do more to protect our manufacturing jobs.
Two years ago this very week, I tabled a motion in this House which called upon the finance committee to begin public hearings on the competitiveness of our manufacturing industries. I was motivated to bring this forward because I was concerned that without immediate provincial action we would lose many manufacturing jobs. I envisioned that these hearings could take place in the summer of 2005, leading to an action plan that would protect those good-paying jobs for Ontario families.
My resolution had the express support of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Canada's Chemical Producers, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, the C.D. Howe Institute, the Employers' Advocacy Council, the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.
While the McGuinty Liberal government dithered on this emerging crisis, Ontario has lost more than 137,000 manufacturing jobs since 2005. Last month alone, the Ontario economy hemorrhaged 13,000 factory jobs. These statistics are not just cold numbers; they are people who have lost good jobs, and most are unlikely to find similar work which pays as well as the jobs they've lost.
We are talking about families who are facing severe hardship because of this government's policy of sticking its collective head in the sand and ignoring prudent warnings that our caucus brought into this House two years ago and have been raising ever since. This afternoon the House should stand united in support of opposition day motion number 5. Let's not wait until October to send a signal to the world that Ontario is open for business.
A vote was held on the PC motion at about 6 pm that evening, at the time when Mr. Arnott was presiding as Acting Speaker of the House. The Hansard record of the motion is attached. The McGuinty Liberal Government used its majority to defeat the motion by a vote of 41 to 24.
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