PC’s Take Action to Create 1 Million Jobs

WOODSTOCK – Today Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak announced his private members’ bill to create one millionjobs in Ontario over the next 8 years. As Agriculture and Food critic Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman was very pleased to see this bill announced.

“Our province is losing jobs every single day,” said Hardeman. “We just saw both Kellogg’s and Heinz announce that they are closing and putting 1,240 people out of work – this bill is the kind of action we need to take to turn things around.”

The bill comes on the heels of a Statistics Canada report showing that Ontario lost another 39,000 jobs in the month of December, the most of any province.

“A few months ago I participated in an event with a number of Oxford’s youth to talk about issues that matter to them,” said Hardeman. “One of the key concerns they raised was the difficulty in not just finding a good job, but a career.”

The bill proposes a 5 step plan to create jobs including:

Produce more jobs and increase take-home pay through lower taxes and less debt;
Ensure affordable energy that will create jobs, not eliminate them;
Train more skilled workers to meet the demand in trades, and help young people find good jobs;
Increase trade with our neighbours; and
End the bureaucratic runaround that inhibits job creation.

In a recent survey, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses found that 68% of farmers and 62% of small business owners are discouraged from growing their businesses and employing more people because of regulatory constraints. 28% of farmers also reported that they would not have entered the profession had they known about the regulatory burden.

“It’s no secret why companies are leaving. Energy prices are too high and businesses are tied up in red tape,” said Hardeman. “With this bill we can take steps to fix these problems, to encourage investment in our province, and build a bright future for Ontario’s youth.”

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For more information, contact:
Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford
(416) 325-1239