Newmarket Era, June 1, 2017

Page 1

THURSDAY JUNE 1, 2017

14,000 REBATE! PROVINCIAL

$

on all

ELECTRIC FOCUS 185 KM RANGE!

18001 LESLIE ST,

(South of Greenlane) Newmarket

905-853-5000

TAINTED VOTE ALLEGATIONS

Voted the BEST Window Company again by Reader’s Choice Awards! See Our Ad In This Paper

NEWMARKET SHOWROOM

16700 Bayview Ave., Unit 15

905.853.9400

www.northerncomfortwindows.com

ONLINE at yorkregion.com News, events and information on your desktop, laptop or mobile device

Is there a cheating problem among candidates vying for nomination in the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario? See page 3.

Sunday Reads

Explore unsolved mysteries and read new work by Canadian authors. yorkregion.com/sundayreads

uReport the News newsroom@yorkregion.com www.facebook.com/yrmgnews @yorkregion yorkregion.com/ureport Shutterstock image

NEWS

Wage increase could mean job losses, higher costs TERESA LATCHFORD tlatchford@yrmg.com The province’s new workplace legislation could produce the opposite effect it was created for, according to one York Region business. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has announced minimum wage will be bumped to $15 per hour in 2019 from the current $11.40 and paid vacation will increase. As well, claiming sick days will be easier, there will be pay equality for casual and seasonal employees compared with full-time employees, new scheduling rules and modified union certification. Pefferlaw and Newmarketbased Buchner Manufacturing has crunched the numbers and the changes will cost the company an additional $200,000 a year. "This is going to mean more use of precarious employment," Buchner executive assistant MJ Williams said. "These changes are something we can’t ignore and it’s going to be a hard pill to swallow." The company has been around

for 40 years and prides itself on hiring full-time employees, offering good jobs complete with benefits and bonuses. But these changes will impact the company and it will have to respond. "The government is trying to get companies to lean away from hiring temporary workers, but they might find these changes will force us to do the opposite," she added. The Newmarket Chamber of Commerce adds that these reforms could lead to job losses, rising consumer costs and economic hardship. "The province seems intent on implementing these reforms without conducting an economic impact analysis," Newmarket Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Debra Scott said. "Businesses are already under considerable strain due to rising costs and this change will certainly have a negative impact on their ability to compete. In fact, we’ve heard from some of our members that this will impact their ability to operate because the new laws will have a detrimental effect on

Teresa Latchford/Metroland

Machine operator Debbie Rundell assembles evestrough hangers at Buchner Manufacturing’s Newmarket location. their costs of doing business." The Richmond Hill Board of Trade echoes the opinion of the local chambers, stating it "strongly objects" to the reforms because

the changes will discourage investment, eliminate jobs and diminish economic opportunities in Ontario, especially among small business owners.

"Our main position is the government should be doing an economic impact study prior to implementing these changes," executive director Elio Furlan said. Businesses will have to generate more revenue to pay employees or those costs will be passed on to the consumer. He dismissed a suggestion a higher minimum wage would help small business because people have more money in their pockets to spend. The Keep Ontario Working Coalition pointed out that only three years ago, the premier’s own minimum wage advisory panel concluded: "researchers have generally found an adverse employment effect of raising minimum wages especially for young workers...typically those studies find that teen employment would drop by 3 to 6 per cent if the minimum wage is raised by 10 per cent." The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is claiming the timing is all wrong for these changes considering costs for consumers and of doing l See CHANGES, page 2

Raw milk supporters protest injunction LISA QUEEN lqueen@yrmg.com

Lisa Queen/Metroland

Dairy farmers Marilew Albrecht and Steve Martin protest outside the Newmarket Courthouse in support of raw milk.

Carrying a protest sign outside the Newmarket Courthouse the morning on May 29, Marilew Albrecht wondered why authorities are trying once again to prevent people’s access to raw milk. "You can’t stop this because there’s such a thing as cows, they give milk and we’re going to drink it," said Albrecht, who runs a dairy farm with her husband, Steve Martin, near Clifford in southwestern Ontario. "It’s impossible for you to stop this, so quit trying to stop it. Quit putting energy, time, money wasting people’s time and money

Painless Laser Hair Removal This is painless, safe, effective laser hair removal performed by highly-experienced physician-supervised staff using state-of-the-art lasers. Money-back guarantee. P H Y S I C I A N

O W N E D

20

- into it. It’s healthy... For them to tell us it’s not healthy, we don’t have to buy that; we don’t have to believe it, we don’t have to trust them." Also holding a protest sign outside the courthouse for the case being heard May 29 and 30, Martin agreed. "People should have a right to choose what they eat," he said. "It’s as simple as that. It’s a pretty basic issue here." Albrecht and Martin were among about three dozen raw milk supporters who gathered in front of the courthouse. York Region, Peel Region and the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit are seeking an in-

junction in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against "certain individuals and entities" involved in the continuing sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products. The respondents are Michael Schmidt, Elisa Vander Hout, Markus Christian Schmidt, Agri-Cultural Renewal Co-operative Inc., Nikolaus Alexander Johannes Osthaus, the Christian Community Church in Canada John Doe, Jane Doe and persons unknown. Intervenor status has been given to Our Farm, Our Food Co-operative Inc. It is illegal to sell raw milk in l See IT, page 2

% off

A N D

During June

O P E R A T E D

905-853-3200 | www.yorkvein.com |

|

T H E

A R E A ’ S

# 1

B O T O X

C L I N I C

DR. PHILIP KRITZINGER MD | 647 DAVIS DRIVE, NEWMARKET


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.