Latest news with #FordConservatives
National Post
7 days ago
- Business
- National Post
CUPE Ontario Delegates Unanimously Call for Ford's Bill 5 to Be Scrapped
Article content TORONTO — Nearly a thousand voting delegates at CUPE Ontario's annual convention last week unanimously adopted an emergency resolution to oppose and defeat the Ford Conservatives' Bill 5, currently being rushed through the legislature and into law. Article content Bill 5 will give Doug Ford and his cabinet the power to create, with the stroke of a pen, no-law 'Special Economic Zones' anywhere in the province. Article content CUPE Ontario convention delegates specifically condemned Schedule 9 of this overreaching and antidemocratic omnibus bill as posing grave threats to workers' rights, Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protections, and public accountability. Article content Delegates to the convention came from thousands of workplaces across the province: municipal services, hospitals, long-term care and health care, schools, universities and libraries, as well as a wide variety in social services, including child care, child protection agencies, community supports for persons with developmental disabilities, services for the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing, supportive housing, and injured workers' compensation. Article content 'Just three months ago, a minority of eligible Ontarians – only 45 percent – showed up to vote in the provincial election, and it was the votes of merely one in five people that gave Doug Ford's Conservatives a majority of seats in our provincial legislature,' observed Fred Hahn, developmental services worker and president of CUPE Ontario. 'If this isn't a weak mandate, I don't know what is. Article content 'Nothing that Premier Ford told you or me during the election campaign gives him license to consolidate more power for himself and his cabinet ministers – and especially not to eliminate environmental protections, disrespect First Nations, and suspend workers' basic rights. But that's what Bill 5 will do. It's a Trump-style power grab by Doug Ford, who said he'd protect us from the anti-Canadian authoritarian in the White House. Article content 'With Doug Ford's Greenbelt corruption scandal still under active police investigation and his wage-suppressing Bill 124 overturned by the courts at significant expense to the public, we encourage Conservative MPPs to urge their colleagues in cabinet to scrap Bill 5 now.' Article content CUPE Ontario unites 290,000 frontline public sector workers throughout Canada's largest province whose labour underpins every cent of economic growth here. Their 61st annual CUPE Ontario convention began on Wednesday in Toronto and wrapped up Saturday morning. Article content The full text of CUPE Ontario's resolution to oppose Bill 5: Article content CUPE Ontario's Resolution to Oppose and Defeat Bill 5 CUPE Ontario will launch a comprehensive, province-wide campaign—uniting all parts of our union with community and labour allies—to vigorously oppose and defeat Bill 5. This campaign will include: Article content Educating Ontarians about the serious threats posed by the bill's Special Economic Zone (SEZ) provisions, which give Cabinet unchecked power to suspend or amend any law, directly undermining vital labour protections such as the Employment Standards Act, Labour Relations Act, and Occupational Health and Safety Act. Mobilizing our members to raise public awareness about the dangers of a two-tier system that would erode working conditions for all. Building the broadest possible coalition to demand the immediate and full withdrawal of this dangerous legislation. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
National Post
15-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
A budget of smoke, mirrors and spin won't protect Ontario jobs in the tariff wars: CUPE Ontario
Article content TORONTO — The province's largest union condemned the failure of the Ford Conservatives' budget to meet Ontarians' needs with a dramatic expansion of public services that would build communities, create jobs and improve lives. Article content Article content 'Doug Ford still masquerades as Captain Canada. But as far as Ontarians are concerned, 'elbows up' should be about public services, the opportunities they provide and the jobs they create,' said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. The union represents 290,000 public sector workers in the province. Article content A recent public opinion poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario showed that Ontarians wanted more funding for public services, an end to health-care privatization, higher corporate taxes to fund vital services, and more job creation through expanded public services. Article content 'To meet the challenges of layoffs, tariffs, and trade wars, the Ford Conservatives have relegated their job creation to tax credits for manufacturers, WSIB rebates for employers, special economic zones, the second-lowest corporate tax rates in the country, and ever-growing contingency and reserve funds. Article content 'But not one of these measures guarantees that a single job will be created. In fact, time after time we've seen business spend this kind of no-strings-attached largesse from government on executive bonuses, stock buybacks and higher dividends for shareholders. And for every 1 per cent drop in the corporate tax rate, the government has $1.9 billion less to spend on services.' Article content Hahn compared this 'vision board' approach from the Ford Conservatives to the benefits of investment in public services: 'The only way for the government to guarantee a job is created is to create one in the public sector. And because the public sector has been starved for years, the need – and the funding – is there. Article content 'This budget follows the pattern the Conservatives have used for years, where they hoard money in contingency funds. But that's not spending, it's not job creation, and it's not good economic planning.' Article content One in five workers in Ontario works in a public sector job; the number increases to one in four when federal public service and municipal jobs are included in the count. Article content 'Like every other budget the Ford government has produced, this one is smoke, mirrors and spin. Only this time it's using the cover of tariffs and trade wars to cover its unwillingness to invest in the things that make life better and more affordable for Ontarians – schools, hospitals, health care, social services, university, stronger municipalities,' said Hahn. 'For the past seven years, we've been hearing the same thing – there's record spending, we're freeing up the economy, life is good. But we talk to each other and to our friends, and families, we know life isn't good, it's deteriorating, and people know their public services are getting worse.' Article content Hahn pointed to indicators, like the fact that 1 in every 16 people rely on food banks in Ontario, or 1 in 7 don't have a family doctor, or hospitals are closing down emergency rooms in record numbers. Article content 'This budget was the Ford government's opportunity to make life better for workers, and they singularly failed in that task. People in Ontario need jobs now; the government has the power to create them. It just needs the will.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
A budget of smoke, mirrors and spin won't protect Ontario jobs in the tariff wars: CUPE Ontario
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The province's largest union condemned the failure of the Ford Conservatives' budget to meet Ontarians' needs with a dramatic expansion of public services that would build communities, create jobs and improve lives. 'Doug Ford still masquerades as Captain Canada. But as far as Ontarians are concerned, 'elbows up' should be about public services, the opportunities they provide and the jobs they create,' said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. The union represents 290,000 public sector workers in the province. A recent public opinion poll commissioned by CUPE Ontario showed that Ontarians wanted more funding for public services, an end to health-care privatization, higher corporate taxes to fund vital services, and more job creation through expanded public services. 'To meet the challenges of layoffs, tariffs, and trade wars, the Ford Conservatives have relegated their job creation to tax credits for manufacturers, WSIB rebates for employers, special economic zones, the second-lowest corporate tax rates in the country, and ever-growing contingency and reserve funds. 'But not one of these measures guarantees that a single job will be created. In fact, time after time we've seen business spend this kind of no-strings-attached largesse from government on executive bonuses, stock buybacks and higher dividends for shareholders. And for every 1 per cent drop in the corporate tax rate, the government has $1.9 billion less to spend on services.' Hahn compared this 'vision board' approach from the Ford Conservatives to the benefits of investment in public services: 'The only way for the government to guarantee a job is created is to create one in the public sector. And because the public sector has been starved for years, the need – and the funding – is there. 'This budget follows the pattern the Conservatives have used for years, where they hoard money in contingency funds. But that's not spending, it's not job creation, and it's not good economic planning.' One in five workers in Ontario works in a public sector job; the number increases to one in four when federal public service and municipal jobs are included in the count. 'Like every other budget the Ford government has produced, this one is smoke, mirrors and spin. Only this time it's using the cover of tariffs and trade wars to cover its unwillingness to invest in the things that make life better and more affordable for Ontarians – schools, hospitals, health care, social services, university, stronger municipalities,' said Hahn. 'For the past seven years, we've been hearing the same thing – there's record spending, we're freeing up the economy, life is good. But we talk to each other and to our friends, and families, we know life isn't good, it's deteriorating, and people know their public services are getting worse.' Hahn pointed to indicators, like the fact that 1 in every 16 people rely on food banks in Ontario, or 1 in 7 don't have a family doctor, or hospitals are closing down emergency rooms in record numbers. 'This budget was the Ford government's opportunity to make life better for workers, and they singularly failed in that task. People in Ontario need jobs now; the government has the power to create them. It just needs the will.'
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Pre-Budget Poll Shows Ontarians Expect Government to Defend Jobs by Investing in Public Services
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the run-up to the provincial budget, CUPE Ontario commissioned a public opinion poll to gauge Ontarians' attitudes toward taxation, funding for public services, health-care privatization, and job creation, as well as specifics about recent decisions of the Ford Conservatives. 'Doug Ford and his Conservatives like to say that they're 'for the people' and that they were re-elected to 'defend Ontario jobs and Ontario workers,'' said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. 'Because they were so thin on details, we went directly to Ontarians to ask for voters' opinion on what 'defending' should look like.' From May 13 to 14, Abacus Data conducted a survey of 1000 voting-age Ontarians. Of those respondents 81% said the Ford government should invest in public services by ensuring funding keeps pace with inflation and population growth; 80% prioritized maintaining or increasing funding for public services like health care and education, even if it means increasing corporate taxes; 76% believed the provincial government should increase income taxes on individual earnings over $300,000 per year to help ensure adequate funding for essential public services; 70% believed the Ontario government has only one sure way to create jobs: by providing tax money to public sector employers and requiring that the money be used to hire more workers to provide public services. Questioned about private, for-profit delivery of health care, 79% of Ontarians said the Ford Conservatives should stop contracting out our health care to for-profit companies to leave more money available for publicly run health care. On Bill 5 – the power-grabbing, rights-robbing Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act 2025 – 80% of respondents said the Ford government should not create special zones in which businesses or selected projects can be exempt from existing laws. 'The results are clear: Ontarians expect investment in our public services as a way of defending Ontario. They expect a budget that will reflect their priorities,' said Hahn.
National Post
09-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Ford and Bill 5's "Special Economic Zones" Bring Worst US-Style Labour Practices to Our Province, Warns CUPE Ontario
Article content – 'No one voted to turn Huntsville, Ontario, into Huntsville, Alabama' – Article content TORONTO — Imagine going to work in a town or city where, by government decree, workers had no right to health and safety, a minimum wage, or employment protections, including the right to recourse when they were injured, fired or mistreated on the job. Article content That's the reality bearing down on Ontarians once the Ford Conservatives' Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025, is made law. Article content Buried in Schedule 9 of this omnibus bill, now at second reading in the Ontario legislature, is the wide-ranging power to create 'special economic zones' anywhere in the province. Within these zones, the provincial government can suspend or override all existing laws and regulations around labour conditions, health and safety, and environmental protections, as well as municipal regulations. 'The effects on workers, families and communities will be disastrous,' said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. Under Bill 5, the Ford Conservatives could turn entire cities – like Toronto or Windsor or Sudbury – into special economic zones. Any region could be named one in which fundamental labour rights and protections no longer apply, including those around child labour, the right to refuse unsafe work, and even basic meal breaks. Article content 'Existing Ontario labour law won't apply in these special economic zones. Under the cloak of an impending economic crisis and the guise of fighting tariffs, Doug Ford plans on delivering workers to the wild west of working conditions, all to the benefit of big business,' said Hahn. Article content Concerned groups have already pointed out the risks Bill 5 poses to the environment, biodiversity, and indigenous sovereignty; the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has called it a 'power grab.' As the largest union in Ontario, CUPE Ontario is sounding the alarm about the bill's threat to workers' rights and the alarming history of flagrant labour violations in special economic zones in the US and around the world. Article content 'The Ford Conservatives are not letting a crisis go to waste,' warned Hahn. 'We're in a climate of deep uncertainty and we are all worried about our future, so few are paying any attention to what the newly re-elected Conservatives are actually doing at Queen's Park.' Article content The threats from tariffs and their fallout are real, Hahn pointed out, 'but you don't solve one problem by creating dozens of others. The potential for labour violations is enormous. No one voted for Doug Ford to turn Huntsville, Ontario, into Huntsville, Alabama.' Article content He continued: 'Doug Ford won the election by wrapping himself in the flag, naming himself Captain Canada, and claiming he'd defend Ontario workers and Ontario jobs. Now he's using the tariff wars as camouflage to create the conditions in which corporate greed can flourish unchecked and without fundamental protections like labour rights. You can't fight for Canada by bringing in laws that copy the very worst of the US laws.' Article content 'Ford has adopted the tactics of the most right-wing Republican demagogues. Canada is not and never will be the fifty-first state – and labour and environmental rights are part of what defines us as distinct from the US. These are rights to be strengthened and protected, not disregarded and suspended.' Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
