Ontario’s manufacturing sector laid low by the oil sands: Mulcair

MINING.COM Staff Writer | April 16, 2012 | 5:12 pm Energy Canada Europe 

Canada’s Leader of the Opposition, Thomas Mulcair, said the oil sands are devastating manufacturing jobs in Ontario.

He accuses the Conservative government of resource favouritism, and the booming oil and gas sector is pushing up the Canadian dollar making manufacturing uncompetitive.

“500,000 good manufacturing jobs have been lost since the Conservatives came to power. More than half of those jobs … have been lost precisely because we’re not internalizing the environmental costs of operating the oilsands,” according to coverage of the event by the Toronto Sun.

Mulcair was in Hamilton and speaking at a convention for Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

The latest polls show the NDP in a statistical tie nationally with the Conservatives. The Liberals have dropped to under 20%.

Mulcair won leadership of the NDP in late March.

Image from Asclepias

 

 

 

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4 Comments

  • Chaton19654

    It is absolutely exact that oil export is pushing CDN $ up, and that manufacturing, farming and forest sector are unable to cope with a +20% exchange rate in the last 5 years.

    To blame high wages make no senses; even pulp & paper mill have ask to their worker to let go benefices, to convert fix revenue pension plan to fix contribution, 15 to 30% wage cut. Even so, those businesses are in the verge of shutting down.

    In free trade context, it is not possible to cap oil export or create an internal Canadian oil price to counteract. The rising CDN $ problem started before Conservative become a majority gvt, although we could guess they are not much interested in Eastern Canada well being.

    I don’t see much way out, beside creating inflation to devaluate CDN $, creating a Eastern Canada State with its own currency or create two currencies inside the same country (Eastern CDN $ and Western CDN$), if such things are possible.

  • David R. (Canada)

    Mr Mulcair isn’t wasting any time trying to divide this country, is he! Very tacky politics, at best. It seems to me the Conservative government bailed out the auto-companies in 2009, didn’t they?
    But, oh no, don’t blame the socialist/progressive policies of the Ontario government; blame the West, where people are working and paying taxes (in non-union jobs).

    What would this man do if he was the opposition in a minority government?
    If he keeps this up he’ll be about as popular as Trudeau was (and still is) out West.

  • Sailor Mac

    Mr. Mulcair. The oilsands are the economic engine that’s driving this country. Manufacturing jobs have left central Canada and will not come back no matter how much you bash the west.
    It really is true
    NDP = NEP

    For the benifit of Non Canadians – that means New DemocraticParty = National Energy Policy

    The National Energy Policy was a Pierre Trudeau Liberal p[olicy which gutted the west in favor of Central Canada

  • A Proud Canadian

    Mr mulcair, the high union wages have nothing to do with the lost of jobs in Ontario? Blame it on the oilsands, what a joke.
    If you are so concerned on developing jobs for Canadians why did your party chose a foriegn company to run the internet voting for your convention?

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