Blame Liberals for Essar Steel Algoma layoffs, NDP says

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NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ONTARIO

************************* Essar Steel Algoma layoffs point to failure of McGuinty’s plan

Up to 400 layoffs expected

QUEEN's PARK - Layoffs in Sault St. Marie’s steel sector show Dalton McGuinty’s harmonized sales tax and corporate tax cuts aren’t working to sustain and create jobs, says NDP Northern Development critic Gilles Bisson.

“Dalton McGuinty’s plan is driving up the cost of filling up at the pump and keeping the house warm,” said Bisson. “The Liberals’ multi-billion dollar corporate tax giveaway is doing little to help Sault families that rely on the steel sector.”

Essar has indicated it plans temporary layoffs of up to 400 workers.

Companies that lose money, like Essar last year, do not benefit from corporate tax cuts.

While Dalton McGuinty parades around the province bragging about his HST, a report released by TD Bank yesterday shows that Ontario lags behind other provinces in recovering jobs lost in the recession.

In fact, Ontario is still 41,000 jobs below its pre-recession high, while Manitoba is up 11,000 jobs since its pre-recession peak (Observation, TD Bank, January 31, 2011, p.1).

“Manitoba, which rejected the HST and is holding the line on corporate tax rates, has more than recovered the jobs lost in the recession,” said Bisson.

Bisson noted that Dalton McGuinty can’t even get his federal Liberal allies on board with his HST and corporate tax cut plan.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said, "We've made it very clear that their corporate-tax-cut agenda is not ours" [Globe and Mail, December 27, 2010] while MP Ujjal Dosanjh said, “I still detest the tax” [Globe and Mail, December 2, 2010].

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