Session: 38:2
Date: 3-May-2007

JOB PROTECTION COMMISSIONER ACT, 2007

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I'm pleased to have the opportunity this morning to speak to Bill 126, the Job Protection Commissioner Act, 2006, brought forward by the leader of the third party. He has brought this forward because the present McGuinty Liberal government hasn't been doing a good job-losing manufacturing jobs almost daily. It's a sad, sad fact out there.

I'm very passionate about my communities, as I know all the members of the Legislature are, and how we can work to keep good-paying manufacturing jobs, and keep these things, especially in rural Ontario, where we're having a hard time. Yesterday was a terrible day for me, because I lost a manufacturing plant in Lindsay: Fleetwood had to close its doors. It has been there since 1972. At one time within the last year, it was employing over 500 people. It has been having to scale down over the months; they've been struggling. I've written letters to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, going back a year and a half now, to say, "What can we do to keep jobs in Ontario?" Eastern Ontario, which this is part of, was hit very, very hard. They need some incentives to stay there, to keep those employees. So yesterday's headlines, "Fleetwood Closing Its Doors"-at this point 315 were left out of work, just there.


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But we all know that there's a huge spinoff effect in our communities. These are valuable jobs. There are other businesses that supplied parts to them; there are the economic spinoffs of just the towns-buying groceries, going to the dress shops. So when a loss that big comes to a small community, it's a huge, devastating impact. We have young families and experienced workers, skilled trades. Opportunities are gone. Youth and summer employment opportunities are gone. Staff were sent home yesterday and told they wouldn't have their jobs past July 25.

One of the employees was quoted in the Lindsay Daily Post as saying, "It's disappointing. There are a lot of people that work here in this town. You've got 300 people here that buy groceries.... I'm also at an age, 55 years old, where it's going to be pretty hard to find a job." It's a very tough pill to take in our community. It's a very tragic thing that has happened there. I spent most of my time on the phone yesterday, talking to the company to say, "What can we do? How can we help the employees you have had there?" many of whom I know personally, because the company has been there since 1972.

Like I said, it's hard for us, once we lose an industry, to try to get new industries built up. That is why the Leader of the Opposition has been bringing these resolutions before us today, because something has to be done. There's a critical situation in our small towns and all over Ontario. We want people to stay in our communities. We could lose these people from our communities.

I know that my colleague from Halton, back in December 2005, presented a motion requesting the government to act and recognize the growing crisis in communities affected by significant job losses as a result of, among other things, plant closures. My view is, one job loss is significant; every job loss is significant. It's important for the people here today to know that under Dalton McGuinty's watch, there were over 120,000 or more job losses in the manufacturing sector-and he was quoted as saying that's a hiccup.

My colleague from Waterloo-Wellington more recently, in November 2006, presented a resolution which received support from all parties. It called attention to addressing job loss issues in the province of Ontario. But we have yet to see any of these things acted upon. If the attitude is that with over 100,000 manufacturing job losses at that time, the Premier says it's a hiccup-it's not a hiccup. It's very important; it's trend-setting. We see more and more job losses every day. I know my friend from Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke is going to speak later. He also had a plant close down yesterday in his riding-more job losses. It's on a daily, daily basis, and we haven't seen a plan from this government. There has been no vision, no commitment to address this growing situation. It is bad out there in Ontario.

My question is, what will our children and our grandchildren do to find the good-paying jobs in the future? With the increasing and rapid erosion of these manufacturing jobs, the lack of action by this government, very few of our children and grandchildren are going to find jobs, especially in rural Ontario. There is a lot that ministries, as I mentioned earlier, along with this government, could do to show leadership in the province of Ontario. Liberal policies leave business and industry struggling. They're struggling to meet regulatory burdens, ever-increasing taxes, energy instability. They're pushing businesses like Fleetwood out of Ontario, and we cannot stand by and let that happen.

We need short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies to assist people who have lost jobs, just like my colleague from Waterloo-Wellington's resolution suggested. It was passed last November by all parties, and we still haven't seen it. The job losses in the forestry sectors that were spoken about so passionately before-you know what? It's going to be too little, too late. Promising an Ontario Manufacturing Council that was in the recent budget with no dates, no timelines and no plan-the consistent theme with the Liberal rhetoric and electioneering. It's time for action now, and my communities in Haliburton-Victoria-Brock need much, much more.

I thank you for the opportunity to speak to this very important motion before us here today.