Northern Ontario jobless rate higher than provincial, national average

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO
PC CAUCUS

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Overall jobs growth remains stagnant with no Liberal action

QUEEN'S PARK - With Ontario’s unemployment rate higher than the national rate for 71 straight months now, it’s obvious the Liberals have no plan to rein in the cost of government and kick-start a stagnant economy, PC Economic Development and Innovation Critic Monte McNaughton said today.

McNaughton’s comments came after the release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released December 7, which shows the unemployment rate in Northern Ontario was a staggering 13.3 percent - higher than both the provincial and national rates for November.

“This is what a decade of disastrous Liberal leadership has got us: a debt that’s threatening to top $411 billion and a public sector that’s ballooned by 300,000 jobs since 2003 while the manufacturing sector has lost 300,000 jobs,” McNaughton said.

In November, the manufacturing sector took another hit with 4,000 jobs lost.

McNaughton stated that what Ontario needs is smaller government that is focused on the priorities, such as health care, education, roads, bridges and transportation networks.

“We need to get a grip on government spending if we want to protect these services for Ontarians, as well as encourage businesses to create jobs in Northern Ontario and across the province,” McNaughton concluded.

The PCs’ plan to deliver more value to taxpayers for less money is outlined in the latest Paths to Prosperity discussion paper, A New Deal for the Public Sector, released yesterday.

To read the paper, visit:  www.ontariopc.com

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