OTTAWA, Nov. 23, 2012 /CNW/ - Premiers must seize the opportunity to
discuss ways to create jobs and improve the Canadian economy today at
the Council of the Federation meeting in Halifax, say labour leaders
whose members have been hard-hit in the manufacturing sector.
"Workers are reminding premiers and absentee Prime Minister Stephen
Harper that we need real action to get the economy back on track," says
CEP National President Dave Coles. "How telling that our Prime Minister
is missing this important meeting in a region where the forestry sector
has been decimated and thousands have lost their jobs."
"There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for working people who
have been living with growing inequality since the 2008 recession,"
said CAW National President Ken Lewenza. "Tens of thousands of
Canadians are among the long-term unemployed or can find only
precarious employment. There are countless ways to prioritize job
creation and our governments are failing to follow through."
Yesterday, CEP as part of the Blue Green Alliance Canada released a
report titled More Bang for our Buck, which describes the job creation potential of investing the $1.3 billion
in federal subsidies, now given to the oil and gas sector, in renewable
energy, energy efficiency and public transit. The results show that six
to eight times more jobs could be created: 18,000-20,000 jobs in clean
energy sectors vs. 2,300 jobs in oil and gas.
"Developing Canada's clean energy sector is just one of the ways we
propose that governments put more people to work in a meaningful way,"
adds Coles. "We are watching this meeting closely, and looking to our
premiers to find ways to improve the outlook for working Canadians
everywhere in the country."
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada and the
Canadian Auto Workers union will hold a founding convention next
September to form a new union that will represent more than 300,000
workers in every province of the country, in 22 different economic
sectors.
SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY AND PAPERWORKERS UNION OF CANADA