Sid Ryan Media Coverage
Thunder Bay February 18, 2010
Communities that Work Campaign
The Chronicle Journal – Thunder Bay, Ontario
OFL eyes job creation
DOUG DIACZUK
02/18/2010
The impact of the current economic crisis on Northern Ontario has been devastating for people in need of jobs, so the Ontario Federation of Labour has launched a Communities at Work campaign, calling on the provincial government to focus on job creation and preservation in its next budget.
“Paying down the deficit will not create jobs, but creating jobs will pay down the deficit,” Sid Ryan, newly elected president of the OFL, said during a news conference Wednesday in Thunder Bay. “We want to see the stimulus money continue to flow, and at the same time resist those calls from Bay Street and the Conservatives to start to address the deficit.”
Ryan explained that if the Liberal government were to start cutting social programs to pay down the deficit, it would be the equivalent of “driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. It makes no sense.”
He said he recognizes that Northern Ontario has been hit particularly hard economically because of the reliance on natural resource-based industries and the high cost of electricity.
“You can generate electricity more cheaply in Northern Ontario than anywhere else,” Ryan said. “Therefore, we should be able to take that cheap plentiful supply of energy and put a policy in place where we can attract industry into Northern Ontario based on lower electricity costs.”
He cited other issues that need to be addressed, including foreign companies imposing standards of labour on Canadian industry, the need for a Buy Ontario policy, corporate tax rates, and maintaining public sector jobs.
“If you stimulate the economy in the private sector and try to create some jobs, and at the same time start slashing public sector jobs and social programs, the net result on the economies and our communities is going to be zero,” Ryan stated.
Two people who have been affected by the economic crisis were on hand to share their own experiences.
Janjina Mayer, originally from Thailand, where she earned a master‘s degree in information technologies, moved to Thunder Bay in 2003 and is still struggling to find even part-time employment.
Mayer explained that working at a temporary job is not enough, and she needs the security that comes with a permanent position.
“I need to save for the future,” she said. “What happens if something happens to my husband? I need my own stable income.”
Bruce Anderson has knows the struggles facing Northern Ontario workers. Anderson worked in the mining industry for 14 years until his mine was shut down and he was forced to leave town to find work.
“I‘m in Fort McMurray (in Alberta) right now,” Anderson explained. “You hear the horror stories once you get up there of what‘s really happening to people having to be away from home.
“They have to do something with this stimulus package and pick up our economy and start creating some jobs in Northern Ontario,” he continued. “I don‘t know what the answer is. I just know they have to take a better look at the North.”
The short-term Communities at Work campaign will focus on the coming provincial budget, and the long-term effort will target the next provincial election.
“It‘s going to grow the movement at the base to get a critical mass going where we will force the government to deal with the question of jobs, energy policies, pension plans, Buy Ontario policies,” Ryan said.
Sid Ryan Media Coverage
Thunder Bay February 17, 2010
Communities that Work Campaign
Tbnewswatch
Jobs over deficit
By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com
February 17, 2010
A campaign by Ontario’s unionized labour force wants to pressure the province to focus on job creation before tackling its multi-billion dollar deficit.
Ontario Federation of Labour President Sid Ryan spoke at the Lakehead Labour Centre press conference Wednesday about the Communities That Work campaign. Organizers of the campaign want the upcoming Ontario budget to focus on creating more jobs.
A stimulus package was a good start and was the right decision on the province’s part, Ryan said. That doesn’t mean the spending should stop. The union president added that he would like to see money continue to flow and for Ontario to resist cutting social programs to pay down its $24.7 billion deficit.
"(Service cuts) make no sense," he said. "If you stimulate the economy in the private sector to create some jobs and at the same time you start slashing (social programs) the net result on the economy and in our communities will be zero."
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada numbers show that Thunder Bay’s unemployment rate sits at 7.6 per cent, nearly two per cent lower than the provincial average. Traditionally Thunder Bay’s working force was in the mining and forestry sectors, which have been among the hardest hit by the economic downturn.
Bruce Anderson, 50, worked for 35 years in the logging and mining industry. He said he quit high school before completing Grade 12 to work in the bush.
"Before you could move from one job to another," Anderson said. "Now you have to know somebody and you have to have this amount of skills. I’m a truck driver and equipment operator so it is a little easier for me."
Anderson said experience in the workforce is often more of an asset than an educated worker without experience. Employers often look for people with hands on experience, but despite Anderson’s experience he is still having trouble finding a full-time job.
Anderson said that the government should step in to help before it is too late and all of these industries die in Northern Ontario.
Ryan also told those attending the local news conference that Ontario should have a special energy policy for the North because Energy costs in this area are a major concern for industries such as mining. Green energy producing projects, like hydroelectric, should be front and centre of that special Northern energy policy, he added.
"It’s the most environmentally friendly renewable source and it’s cheap," Ryan said. "Let’s take that cheap, plentiful supply of electricity and put in a policy to attracted industry in Northern Ontario based on lower electricity costs."
The Communities That Work campaign will continue to the Niagara region before heading toward Windsor and will be stopping at various cities with a high rate of unemployment.
Cope343
Thunder Bay February 18, 2010
Communities that Work Campaign
The Chronicle Journal – Thunder Bay, Ontario
OFL eyes job creation
DOUG DIACZUK
02/18/2010
The impact of the current economic crisis on Northern Ontario has been devastating for people in need of jobs, so the Ontario Federation of Labour has launched a Communities at Work campaign, calling on the provincial government to focus on job creation and preservation in its next budget.
“Paying down the deficit will not create jobs, but creating jobs will pay down the deficit,” Sid Ryan, newly elected president of the OFL, said during a news conference Wednesday in Thunder Bay. “We want to see the stimulus money continue to flow, and at the same time resist those calls from Bay Street and the Conservatives to start to address the deficit.”
Ryan explained that if the Liberal government were to start cutting social programs to pay down the deficit, it would be the equivalent of “driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. It makes no sense.”
He said he recognizes that Northern Ontario has been hit particularly hard economically because of the reliance on natural resource-based industries and the high cost of electricity.
“You can generate electricity more cheaply in Northern Ontario than anywhere else,” Ryan said. “Therefore, we should be able to take that cheap plentiful supply of energy and put a policy in place where we can attract industry into Northern Ontario based on lower electricity costs.”
He cited other issues that need to be addressed, including foreign companies imposing standards of labour on Canadian industry, the need for a Buy Ontario policy, corporate tax rates, and maintaining public sector jobs.
“If you stimulate the economy in the private sector and try to create some jobs, and at the same time start slashing public sector jobs and social programs, the net result on the economies and our communities is going to be zero,” Ryan stated.
Two people who have been affected by the economic crisis were on hand to share their own experiences.
Janjina Mayer, originally from Thailand, where she earned a master‘s degree in information technologies, moved to Thunder Bay in 2003 and is still struggling to find even part-time employment.
Mayer explained that working at a temporary job is not enough, and she needs the security that comes with a permanent position.
“I need to save for the future,” she said. “What happens if something happens to my husband? I need my own stable income.”
Bruce Anderson has knows the struggles facing Northern Ontario workers. Anderson worked in the mining industry for 14 years until his mine was shut down and he was forced to leave town to find work.
“I‘m in Fort McMurray (in Alberta) right now,” Anderson explained. “You hear the horror stories once you get up there of what‘s really happening to people having to be away from home.
“They have to do something with this stimulus package and pick up our economy and start creating some jobs in Northern Ontario,” he continued. “I don‘t know what the answer is. I just know they have to take a better look at the North.”
The short-term Communities at Work campaign will focus on the coming provincial budget, and the long-term effort will target the next provincial election.
“It‘s going to grow the movement at the base to get a critical mass going where we will force the government to deal with the question of jobs, energy policies, pension plans, Buy Ontario policies,” Ryan said.
Sid Ryan Media Coverage
Thunder Bay February 17, 2010
Communities that Work Campaign
Tbnewswatch
Jobs over deficit
By Jeff Labine, tbnewswatch.com
February 17, 2010
A campaign by Ontario’s unionized labour force wants to pressure the province to focus on job creation before tackling its multi-billion dollar deficit.
Ontario Federation of Labour President Sid Ryan spoke at the Lakehead Labour Centre press conference Wednesday about the Communities That Work campaign. Organizers of the campaign want the upcoming Ontario budget to focus on creating more jobs.
A stimulus package was a good start and was the right decision on the province’s part, Ryan said. That doesn’t mean the spending should stop. The union president added that he would like to see money continue to flow and for Ontario to resist cutting social programs to pay down its $24.7 billion deficit.
"(Service cuts) make no sense," he said. "If you stimulate the economy in the private sector to create some jobs and at the same time you start slashing (social programs) the net result on the economy and in our communities will be zero."
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada numbers show that Thunder Bay’s unemployment rate sits at 7.6 per cent, nearly two per cent lower than the provincial average. Traditionally Thunder Bay’s working force was in the mining and forestry sectors, which have been among the hardest hit by the economic downturn.
Bruce Anderson, 50, worked for 35 years in the logging and mining industry. He said he quit high school before completing Grade 12 to work in the bush.
"Before you could move from one job to another," Anderson said. "Now you have to know somebody and you have to have this amount of skills. I’m a truck driver and equipment operator so it is a little easier for me."
Anderson said experience in the workforce is often more of an asset than an educated worker without experience. Employers often look for people with hands on experience, but despite Anderson’s experience he is still having trouble finding a full-time job.
Anderson said that the government should step in to help before it is too late and all of these industries die in Northern Ontario.
Ryan also told those attending the local news conference that Ontario should have a special energy policy for the North because Energy costs in this area are a major concern for industries such as mining. Green energy producing projects, like hydroelectric, should be front and centre of that special Northern energy policy, he added.
"It’s the most environmentally friendly renewable source and it’s cheap," Ryan said. "Let’s take that cheap, plentiful supply of electricity and put in a policy to attracted industry in Northern Ontario based on lower electricity costs."
The Communities That Work campaign will continue to the Niagara region before heading toward Windsor and will be stopping at various cities with a high rate of unemployment.
Cope343
