FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 12, 2013
Simcoe – “A slap in the face.”
That’s how Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett characterized a Liberal-NDP tag-team to defeat a bill that would have restored sanity to a broken arbitration system that forces unaffordable settlements for municipal government workers on taxpayers.
“Ontario can create jobs again,” MPP Toby Barrett said. “But it makes it difficult when the provincial government – joined by the third party – refuses to take action to stop the overspending that puts the things we value at risk.”
A decade of deliberate decisions by the McGuinty-Wynne Liberals resulted in soaring public sector workers’ wages – threatening our ability to live within our means. The resulting wage costs put important services at risk – like fire, police and health.”
“Ms. Wynne and Ms. Horwath need to explain why they oppose our legislation,” continued Barrett. “Instead of appeasing government worker unions, they need to learn that every dollar handed to them comes out of taxpayers’ pockets.”
The Official Opposition’s now-defeated Capacity to Pay Act would have put a stop to the continuing trend that sees arbitrators’ award unaffordable contract settlements.
The Capacity to Pay Act would have restored accountability, in three key ways:
* First, arbitrators’ decisions must factor in specific economic and budgetary factors, like the taxpayers’ capacity to pay, when making decisions and by explaining those decisions in writing;
* Second, it makes arbitrators accountable by ensuring cases are decided within tight timelines and full written reasons are provided that explain how the decision was arrived at; and
* Third, create a Capacity to Pay Division which would publish comparative information on compensation, as well as proactively disclose all arbitration decisions.
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For more information contact
Toby Barrett 519-428-0446 or 1-800-903-8629