Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott is demanding the province take action to turn around what he calls Ontario’s “troubled” manufacturing section.
“How much longer will our manufacturing sector bleed good jobs before this government wakes up and takes effective action?” Arnott asked.
His comments in the Ontario Legislation on April 8 came in the wake of what some have called devastating News to the Fergus community, as A.O. Smith announced that manufacturing operations would end at the Fergus plant later this year.
During question period, Arnott challenged Premier Kathleen Wynne’s statements that jobs are “trending in the right direction” and that the loss of manufacturing jobs is a “myth.”
Arnott stated that, “In the past eight years, Ontario has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs … if the Premier had come to my riding last week, she would have discovered that the loss of manufacturing jobs is not a myth. It is real.”
Arnott also pointed out that for years he has been warning about the troubles facing Ontario’s manufacturing sector.
He reminded the government about a private member’s resolution he first tabled in 2005 calling on the provincial government to have an all-party committee of the Legislature investigate Ontario’s industrial and economic competitiveness and to develop an action plan to protect manufacturing jobs in the province.
“We cannot take current favourable economic conditions for granted,” Arnott argued at the time.
“The world isn’t standing still and our manufacturers are facing unprecedented challenges in the global marketplace. If we aren’t competitive we will lose jobs.”
In spite of the fact that Arnott’s resolution was passed by the Ontario Legislature on Nov. 30, 2006, he says the government refused to allow the committee hearings to take place.
