PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Ford swings into full election mode The gears are moving in anticipation of the provincial election next year. Ads have begun, and Ford’s promises and new legislation announcements are going to be a regular occurrence. Ford’s only concern is re-election. He believes that if he throws enough scraps out there, that the public will forget how little he’s done to look after and serve the needs of the people over the last four years.
past rhetoric was that $15 per hour hurts businesses. In fact, $15 is not a living wage anywhere in this province anymore.
The living wage across Ontario is well above $15 per hour. •
Guelph – $18.10
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Halton – $20.75
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Kingston – $17.75
He might be right. But I know that the people of Ontario have better memories than that.
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Niagara – $18.90
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Sault Ste. Marie – $16.20
Minimum Wage
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Thunder Bay – $16.30
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Toronto – $22.08
Right out of the gate, Ford eliminated minimum wage increases, that would have put the rate at $15 per hour as of January 2019, and froze the rate for two years. Happy employers; Workers left falling behind. But in November, Ford announced that minimum wage would be $15 per hour on January 1, 2022. And while that’s a step in the right direction, his 1 https://www.ontariolivingwage.ca/living_wage_by_region
Ford also refuses to lift Bill 124, which caps wage increases for many frontline nurses and other workers, and is an infringement on the collective bargaining rights of those workers.
Paid Sick Days In 2018, Ford scrapped the two legislated paid sick days that
workers had. Only after more than a year of the pandemic and intense pressure from all sides did Ford give in – just a bit – and create an inadequate and temporary program that grants three paid sick days to Ontario workers, and only for COVID-19 related illness. The truth is, these kinds of worker-friendly announcements can’t hide the truth of his allegiance to the best interests of business.
Truth and Reconciliation Ford chose not to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial statutory holiday. Many employers followed suit, making the same wrong decision, with some violating collective agreement language in doing so. Read about an arbitration victory on this matter with Loblaw Companies on page 14.
WSIB In October, the government said continued on page 5...
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