Economy continues to stagnate while taxes and hydro are on the rise

Statement from Economic Development, Employment and Growth Critic Monte McNaughton on May’s job numbers:

“Last month’s job numbers show a sizeable increase to Ontario’s unemployment rate, further cementing Ontario as a have-not province. We are no longer the economic freight train every province once envied.

“Under Kathleen Wynne, Ontario has become uncompetitive. Her Liberal government has spent the last 14 years making life harder for everyone in Ontario – including employers.

“The government’s own numbers confirm this. Ontario’s economic growth is expected to fall from 2.7% to 2.3% this year and down to 1.7% in 2020. Employment growth is set to fall to 0.9% in 2020, and job creation will fall from 94,000 in 2017 to 66,000 in 2020.

“The Liberals have introduced a cap-and-trade cash grab and continuously add burdensome red tape on our businesses. They make grand commitments to infrastructure but hardly put shovels in the ground, like we’ve seen in London with the announcement and re-announcement of high speed rail.

“We already knew Kathleen Wynne would hike our hydro rates after the next election, but we never thought she would do it before the election. Now she appears set to rubberstamp a rate hike that would see families paying an extra $141 per year.

“This government has a well-documented track record of failed policies that are making life harder for Ontario families. The government’s own budget says that we are at the peak of our employment and that going forward it’s all in decline. It’s clear, life is harder under the Liberals. Ontarians are working harder, paying more and getting less.”