Statement from PC Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure Critic Monte McNaughton On March Job Numbers

Ontario PC Economic Development, Employment & Infrastructure Critic Monte McNaughton issued the following statement today on March job numbers:

“This month Ontario gained 13,900 jobs, led primarily by the private sector (+31,000), and while I am thrilled for the people who have gained employment this month, the increase barely makes a dent in the nearly 50,000 full time jobs that were lost in February. Ontario’s unemployment rate remained unchanged this month at 6.8 per cent.

Likewise, while we saw youth employment increase over the last month, overall youth employment has decreased by 30,300 jobs since the same time last year. March also saw the loss of 12,400 part-time jobs and 7,900 self-employed jobs across Ontario.

While the monthly jobs numbers can go up and down, the real job of any successful government is to manage the fundamentals in order to set the stage for real and lasting private sector job growth.

That’s not happening in Ontario today. Instead we see a government that’s increasing taxes and continuing to spend far more money than we take in. Ontario government’s debt has grown by 91 per cent in less than 10 years — the highest rate of growth of any federal or provincial government in Canada.                                                                       

Ontario will pay nearly $12 billion in interest charges this year alone to service and maintain that level of debt. That’s approximately $1 billion a month in interest on the debt.

Every tax dollar that goes to pay interest on the debt is a dollar that is not available to be spent on hospitals, home care, long-term care, schools, public safety, roads and transportation, and environmental protection – the services we all rely on to help build our province, and attract and retain the entrepreneurs and job creators that Ontario desperately needs.

The fact remains, Ontario needs a government committed to continual growth that is driven by lower energy costs, reducing the harmful red tape for businesses and job creators and getting Ontario’s $308 billion debt under control.

It’s clear that life is harder under the Wynne-Liberals.”