2009 Bylaw & Policy Conference – April 25, 2009

Andrea Horwath - NDP Provincial Leader

New Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath discussed the global economic crisis we face and the effect it has on Ontario workers and their families.

Noting that the unemployment rate in Ontario is over 8%, its highest rate since the 90s, she also mentioned that harder hit areas such as Windsor have a rate of 12% unemployment – and that number is rising.

“For the first 140 years of Confederation Ontario was the powerhouse of this country. It had good-paying unionized jobs that helped finance education, health care and a broad range of services that Ontarians have come to expect and need. Good-paying unionized jobs are the foundation of a just society,” she explained.

“They not only create a high standard of living but they protect the rights of workers by providing a fair and more equitable relationship between employees and employers.” Andrea wants to see the government invest responsibly in infrastructure such as transit. “We want to see 50% of the value of transit vehicles purchased in Ontario be made in Ontario. We can be global leaders,” she said. “But the streetcars and subways should be made in Thunder Bay. The buses should be manufactured in Mississauga. The steel used in our roads, bridges and sewers should come from Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie.”

Andrea was very critical of Premier McGuinty’s latest budget saying it lacked real investment in working people and accountability for businesses – especially those receiving government dollars.

“In Ontario today, a lifetime of toil and dedication and commitment poured into a company by its employees should count for something – but it doesn’t. McGuinty’s budget could have ensured that every last penny of back wages, vacation pay, severance pay and pensions would be paid out when a company went under or pulled up stakes and left – but he didn’t do that.”

“I believe there is lots of opportunity in Ontario for jobs that pay a living wage. That every job guarantees vacation pay, benefits and security and that every worker is treated like a human being with human rights. That every worker knows that they can leave after a hard day’s work and go back to their family whole and safe. That every workplace respects women and their families so that not one more woman is fired for having a child.”

“Nothing can stop a group of workers who have decided that their destiny is in their own hands.”

Visit www.andreahorwath.ca OR http://ontariondp.com.