TORONTO – The Progressive Conservatives are blaming the previous Liberal government for the job losses recorded in Ontario last month.
Economic Development Minister Jim Wilson says the numbers for August, which saw Ontario shed 80,100 jobs, are a reminder of the previous government’s waste and scandals.
The figures from Statistics Canada’s labour force survey pushed Ontario’s unemployment rate up to 5.7 per cent, from 5.4 per cent.
The Tories, who took power in June, did not elaborate on specific reasons for the job losses, almost all of which involved part-time positions.
The NDP says that while the figures are a snapshot, they will become a larger concern if they represent a beginning of a trend.
Catherine Fife, the party’s jobs, employment, research and innovation critic, says the government has sent negative signals to the business community by cancelling the cap-and-trade system and by ripping up existing energy contracts.