CANADA
Proposed Budget cuts will “gut” Ontario’s Public Service and lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs, a union chief has warned.
President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Fred Hahn (pictured) told members of the Provincial Parliament that meeting the Budget promises would mean public spending would have to be cut by 10 per cent over the next five years.
“Slashing services by such a large margin means a loss of hundreds of jobs because cuts to the public services mean fewer services for communities and always mean job losses because public services are provided by people,” Mr Hahn told the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
He said any cuts handed down by Premier, Doug Ford’s Government would be especially hard on a large seniors population in the Bay of Quinte region which relied heavily on long-term care public services both in institutions and in home-assisted care.
“As a Province with a growing and aging population, we must grow program spending just to maintain the level of service delivery we have now, let alone expand it to meet the true needs and demands of Ontario families,” Mr Hahn said.
The union chief said crucial public services across Ontario were approaching a tipping point.
“Just to maintain the current level of public services that exist across the Province today, just to keep things the way they are, the Province’s Financial Accountability Officer has said spending has to increase by at least 3.6 per cent,” he said.
Toronto, 23 January 2020
