OPSEU Region 4

An important message about the Drummond Commission

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:07:40 +0000

Email sent to all OPSEU members February 17, 2012

Dear friends,

The report of the Drummond Commission on the reform of public services in Ontario was released on Feb. 15.

As a guide to Drummond’s recommendations, OPSEU has produced Out of Step With Ontario, an overview of the Drummond report that identifies key areas of concern for OPSEU members. These areas are of equal concern to the people of Ontario, given that they are tied to the public services we all rely on.

Without strong public services, the quality of Ontario life would rapidly drop. For the most part, the Drummond recommendations form a strategic plan to destroy the social fabric of the province. Most go against basic Ontario values. If these recommendations are adopted, Ontario will change rapidly from a supportive and caring place to a harsh competitive environment. That type of province would be a cruel place that would exclude many.

Drummond, based on his mandate and political philosophy, has adopted an approach that is one sided, focusing on cuts and spending reductions. This contrasts with the balanced approach most people are looking for.

This is why, in the coming weeks, we must all work hard to lobby politicians to set aside or modify many of these recommendations. These politicians will soon debate and pass the 2012 Ontario budget. As confirmed by the Premier and the Finance Minister, the (minority) government’s budget is critical. After all, they are the deciders!

This is why we must grab their attention now, working with our community partners.

Click here to send a message to your MPP right now. It’s easy: Just fill in your name and postal code, and with two clicks of a mouse, your message will be sent automatically to your MPP, with a copy to Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Together we must stand for budget measures that ensure quality public services; greater income equality (rather than disparity); fair taxation; and government programs that will support prosperity, not austerity.

That is our challenge. OPSEU members will meet this challenge, just as we have in the past. Working with others, we will ensure that the public services we provide remain strong. This is what the people of Ontario expect. This will also build a stronger province and, through this, secure our employment.

There are choices to be made when confronting the deficit. Don Drummond has made the wrong choices. With a minority government, sustained action on our part and public opinion supporting many of our arguments we can shape the budget to reflect the values of the majority rather than the views of the privileged.

In Solidarity!

Warren (Smokey) Thomas
President, Ontario Public Service Employees Union

If you did not received this email directly that means that OPSEU Head Office does not have your home email address on file. Please take a moment and contact OPSEU direct (1 800 268 7376) and update your contact information with them. The coming months are going to very busy ones for our members as we work together not just as OPSEU Sisters and Brothers to preserve the services that we all provide, but as we also work with our community partners to ensure Ontario remains a place where every Ontarian has the opportunity to succeed and prosper to the best of their abilities.

In Solidarity
Your EBMs

Chris, Smokey and Dave

Another Windfall for Corporations – A Loss for Ontario!

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:51:05 +0000

Having driven the world to the brink of disaster through unregulated corporate greed and loosing over $35 trillion virtually overnight in 2008 in the world’s largest financial meltdown and plunging the world into the deepest recession since the 1930s, Bankers like Don Drummond are now deciding how we will pay for their mess; this after they received a $40 billion bailout here in Canada and paid themselves $8 billion of that in CEO Bay Street bonuses.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just called on all world governments not to cut government spending while the economy is still weak. The IMF says that cutting government services now may well worsen the economic crisis, and cause our economy to shrink. It’s a well-known fact that Investors prefer economic growth over contraction, if you want investment you need growth.

While our children, our young adults, our homeless, our unemployed neighbours, the sick, the handicapped, and our elderly go without the services they deserve, this government is racing ahead with yet another round of their fiscally irresponsible and utterly ineffective corporate tax cuts, spurred on by the whaling of Hudak’s Bay Street boys. Not only will McGuinty continue to slash services he is borrowing money, $2.4 billion, adding to our debt, a debt our children and grandchildren will struggle to pay off to ensure that those corporations with billions already in the bank receive millions more. No doubt, locally Bay Streets MPP Clark, will dutifully rise with his brethren in the Legislature and call for more, more cuts to government services, more jobs losses, and more corporate welfare to appease the unendingly greedy demands of Bankers and multinational corporations like Caterpillar.

When McGuinty lead the opposition he rose over 70 times in the legislature to speak against the Harris corporate tax cuts, ironically describing them as reckless and ineffective. Here’s one of my favourite quotes from the now-Premier, “What the Conservatives are asking us to do is to cut corporate income taxes – those are taxes on profitable corporations – by $2.3 billion … That definitely means closing hospitals, firing nurses, cutting education. It means driving up tuition fees. It means cutting the Ministry of the Environment and the like and it means running a deficit.”

Now as Bay Street representatives the Liberal and the Conservative corporate chorus will call for increased privatization. Never mind that Ontario’s history of privatization is one of colossal fiscal waste, public risk and even death, from Meat inspection, through Anderson Consulting, to Hwy 407, to the P3 boondoggles like the Brampton Hospital, the William Osler Health Centre, and the Royal Ottawa, to Walkerton, Private Jails, Teranet, and now ORNGE to name but a few!

The latest P3 announcement, the privatization of Service Ontario, promises to be the most titanic provincial mistake since Saskatchewan privatized the Potash Industry! Service Ontario is the number one revenue maker in Ontario, bringing in yearly over $2.6 billion in profits, more than the lotteries and the LCBO combined, helping to fund the entire raft of government services we all depend on.

Should privatization proceed, private for-profit corporations will have access to your personal information, and if they operate in the U.S. so will that government. Of the $2.7 billion annual in government revenue now gained, a corporation will take all, or a cut, of these revenues. Service Ontario issues valuable government ID including: the health card, Ontario photo card (ID for non-drivers) and the enhanced driver’s license. This ID makes it possible to access health care, open a bank account, and cross the border into the U.S. Sadly, 200 Service Ontario offices are already run for a profit by private contractors. They are paid a fee per transaction. Profits depend on increasing the number of transactions. So there is an incentive to increase YOUR red tape. There is no incentive for private issuers to verify documents and ask questions. How will this prevent identity fraud? Who will protect our Health Cards from desperate Americans denied heath care at home? Right now province-wide, there are only 25-30 audit staff monitoring millions of transactions at Service Ontario offices making the effective policing of the issuing of fraudulent cards nearly impossible. And finally there is an increased risk of identity theft and fraud if these contractors report to a private corporation and not to the government.

Beyond Bay Street, no matter how you examine it, the Liberals and the Conservatives are proven failures when it comes to wisely managing our Ontario’s wealth. It’s time to speak out before all our communities are catterpillared into the ground.

David Lundy
Regional Vice President
OPSEU

Cover photo by raysto on Flickr

Fighting Privatization: ServiceOntario Information Pickets

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:43:16 +0000

Sisters and Brothers,

On Monday Dwight Duncan announced the move to further privatize Service Ontario. In response OPSEU has called for info pickets this Friday across the province to bring awareness of the extreme importance of keeping public counters. In Region 4 we were in the middle of planning these events. For this Friday we have decided to focus our efforts on 4 locations to maximize our impact and roll out a plan to complete the rest by March. Please see the list below and attend in your community. Fighting privatization is at the core of OPSEU’s values. Service Ontario brings in 2.7 billion dollars in revenue for the province. This decision is the wrong one. Here are more reasons why: http://www.opseu.org/news/press2012/february-13-2012.htm

SERVICE ONTARIO INFO PICKET VIDEO, FEB 3rd 2012

(Please Share with your Members)
http://opseuregion4.org/2012/02/serviceontario-info-picket-on-feb-3rd-2012/

We are on the eve of the Drummond Report release. The information will be released today at 2:15 pm. Please keep in mind this is not the budget but recommendations. There will be trial balloons to test public opinion and we will work to challenge that. Over the next month and a half leading up to the budget we in region 4 will be very active and will be in a fight to keep quality public services in this province. We will be adding demonstrations to this list as we decipher the report. During this period we will be strongly encouraging you and your members to access to local time off fund to attend the actions listed below. As we move forward we will be releasing lots of information on why this budget is the wrong path for Ontario. Thanks for all of your hard work during our Commission process and lets stand together and fight for the common good. Please share this information with everyone you know.

INFO PICKETS BY AREA

Friday Feburary 17th @ Noon:

Service Ontario Information Picket Locations
Service Ontario Counter
Belleville 199 Front Street, Unit 109

Service Ontario Counter
Ottawa 110 Laurier Avenue West

John Gerretsen Constituency Office
303 Bagot Street, Suite #2 – LaSalle Mews Plaza
Kingston, ON K7K 5W7

Service Ontario Counter
Renfrew 316 Plaunt Street South

Monday March 5th @ Noon:

Service Ontario Counter
Bancroft 50 Monck Street

Service Ontario Counter
Picton 1 Pitt Street

Friday March 9th @ Noon:

Service Ontario Counter
Napanee 7 Snow Road, Unit 2

Tuesday March 13th@ Noon:

Office of Yasir Naqvi, MPP
411 Roosevelt Avenue, Suite 204
Ottawa, ON K2A 3X9T

Wednesday March 14th @ Noon:

Service Ontario Counter
Brockville 7 King Street West

Thursday March 15th@ Noon:

Service Ontario Counter
Hawkesbury 179 Main Street East

Friday March 16th @Noon:

Service Ontario Counter
Kanata 580 Terry Fox Drive

Service Ontario Counter
Pembroke 400 Pembroke Street East

In Solidarity

Smokey, Dave and Chris

Ten Points on Recession, Deficits, and Austerity in Ontario

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:53:16 +0000

Originally posted on BehindTheNumbers.ca by Jim Stanford

Ontario public service advocates and providers are becoming increasingly and rightfully alarmed about the direction of provincial finances, in the run-up to tomorrow’s public release of the Drummond Commission report, and a subsequent provincial budget that looks to be painfully austere.

The budget-cutting set are ramping up the rhetoric pretty dramatically: warning that Ontario is fast becoming the “Greece of Canada,” that we are about to hit the “debt wall,” that interest rates will skyrocket when the debt raters wake up, and similar nonsense. This is pure shock-doctrine stuff (reminiscent of like propoganda that set the stage for Paul Martin’s austerity in the mid-1990s), and must be called out for what it is.

Ontario is not remotely Greece. A good way to make us MORE like Greece would be to throw tens of thousands of broader public sector workers out of their jobs, in a misguided effort to dig our way out of a hole. Investors love our bonds (and those of every other Canadian province) — that’s why they finance 10-year loans for interest rates barely above the rate of inflation. The key task in strengthening the fiscal balance is to put people back to work: paying taxes (instead of collecting EI), and buying stuff (instead of hoarding cash). While the provincial government’s toolkit in that regard is not infinite (the feds have far more ability to influence job-creation, through macro, monetary, exchange rate, and other policies), we can’t consider the provincial fiscal challenge without placing it in its appropriate macroeconomic context.

Here are ten macroeconomic factoids to keep in mind as we prepare to counter the overarching claim that Ontario just can’t afford our already-stretched network of public services:

1. We cannot forget that the recession caused the deficit, not “overspending” or an “out-of-control” public sector. After all, remember that the budget was balanced (with 3 years of surpluses, in fact) before the financial crisis hit in 2008-09.

2. Here’s another way to make the same point. Due to both the reduction in GDP, and to a modest decline in provincial revenues as a share of GDP, the recession and its after-effects have reduced present revenue in Ont by $15b per year. About two-thirds of that amount is due to the fact that provincial GDP is 8-10% lower than it would have been without the recession and resulting slow recovery. (I estimate that amount in reference to a non-recession scenario of continuing real per capita GDP growth of 1% per year, multiplied by the actual GDP deflator; so this estimate is conservative as it is only capturing the real impacts of the recession, not the reduction in inflation as well.) About one-third of the lost revenue is due to the recession-induced decline in the revenue share (which fell by slightly under a point of GDP). With Ontarians paying a smaller slice out of a smaller pie in taxes to the provincial government, provincial revenues take a double-barrelled hit. Once again, it is clear that without a recession, there would be no deficit (since the 2011-12 provincial deficit will come in, interestingly, at almost exactly that amount: $15b).

3. Low nominal interest rates mean that:

a) the average effective interest rate paid in Ontario is declining (not rising), because each bond from the 1990s or 2000s that matures is replaced with a lower-interest-rate bond today (despite the overblown fear of rating agencies, downgrades, etc).

b) the debt situation is less explosive than it was in the 90s when the nominal interest rate was much higher than the nominal growth rate. With nominal interest rates broadly equal to nominal growth rates, the problem of “explosive” debt which was experienced in the 1990s (or in countries like Greece today) is not a factor.

4. In this regard, the doom-and-gloom projections of the impact of rising debt (not to mention a potential “downgrade”) on Ontario’s interest costs are vastly overstated. Total interest costs paid by the province this year will be no higher than a decade ago, even though the net debt is $100 billion higher.

5. Measured properly as a share of GDP, the rise in Ontario’s debt since 2008 has been modest – it’s presently about 35% of GDP, its growth has slowed substantially since 2010, and it will start declining (as a share of GDP) several years before the budget is actually balanced (as soon as the continuing rate of growth in nominal GDP outstrips the rate of growth in the debt). That figure includes the debt of school boards, colleges, and hospitals. The province’s “accumulated deficit” (a narrower measure, which takes into account the value of the provincial government’s non-financial assets) is much smaller: under 25% of GDP. While there is no doubt that Ontario’s deficit must be steadily reduced (unless we slip back into recession, in which case longer-lasting deficits should be accepted), the current accentuated sense of “crisis” over provincial debt is misplaced, and is being used manipulatively to justify unnecessary austerity.

6. Compared to a benchmark in which real per capita program spending is held constant, the austerity being touted by Mr. Drummond & Co (with a rumoured annual increase in program spending of just 0.5%, far lower than the 1.8% forecast in the pre-budget fiscal plan that was more-or-less adopted by all 3 parties) would reduce program spending $12.5 b per year below what it would have been in 2015-16.

7. The pre-election fiscal stance (accepted essentially by ALL 3 parties, incidentally) allowed for annual program spending growth in Ontario of just under 2%. That is bad enough, and would translate into medium-term reductions in real per capita spending (since we need about 3.1% to keep up with population and inflation). But Mr. Drummond & Co are now saying it must be much lower than that: only 1.0% per year they hinted before Christmas, or even 0.5% per year in some more recent “trial balloons”. (It will be interesting to see what the report actually forecasts tomorrow.) Going at 0.5% instead of 1.8% would mean that the real per capita cuts would be TWICE as bad as under the 1.8% scenario (3.1 minus 1.8 is a gap of 1.3; but 3.1 minus 0.5 is a gap of 2.6, twice as much — see figure).

8. On the basis of plausible multiplier factors (such as those used by the Federal Dept of Finance), reducing program spending $12.5 billion below what it WOULD have been (under a constant real per capita service benchmark) would reduce provincial GDP by $19 b (or 3%) below what it WOULD have been (in a scenario which kept real per capita program spending constant). Depending on what happens in other sectors, this potentially could tip the province back into recession. If other sectors of the economy are growing quickly, then it might not result in an outright recession – but in any event, fiscal drag on this scale will certainly hold back overall economic conditions, which are the crucial determinant of provincial fiscal health. That lesson is readily apprent in Greece and other peripheral euro economies; even the IMF now acknowledges that austerity is doing more harm than good over there.

9. Incidentally, fiscal drag is already exerting a negative impact on economic performance, both in Ontario and nationally. For example, in the third quarter 2011 economic accounts released by Ontario last month, government spending by all levels in the province (especially capital spending) is now falling, undermining GDP growth and job-creation.

10. Ontarians voted for a deficit reduction timetable (essentially proposed by all 3 parties) in which program spending would be controlled at a relatively austere annual rate (below 2%), and in which the deficit is eliminated slowly but gradually. They expressed no support for the notion that the province should take even harsher measures. There is no convincing evidence that economic performance over the medium-term will be weaker than was envisioned at the time of the election (if anything, conditions in the U.S., our main customer, are becoming better than was expected at that time). Therefore, one key recommendation that has been telegraphed by the Drummond process (namely, to tighten program spending well below what was contemplated in the election) is unjustified, both economically and democratically.

For comments, please go to the original blog posting on BehindTheNumbers.ca

ServiceOntario Info Picket on Feb 3rd, 2012

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:05:14 +0000

Harper lies to Canadian Seniors about OAS

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:50:20 +0000

Ontario Health Coalition – Rally in Support of Public Health Care

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:57:06 +0000

Now more than ever it is of utmost importance that the people of this province send the government of this province the message that we will not stand to have our Public Health Care system further compromised by further cut backs, delisting of services and continued privatization. Instead we demand a roll back on the irresponsible privatizations that have taken place, and the adequate funding of our Universal Health care system.

As one of the primary professional groups tasked with the daily struggle to deliver the services that Ontarian’s expect and deserve we need to show up in overwhelming numbers to ensure that MPP Garretson hears our message loudly and clearly.

Please plan on attending this Rally. Bring your co-workers, your neighbours and families!

In Solidarity
Dave, Chris and Smokey

Rally – February 17th:

What: Mass Meeting at John Gerretsen’s Office in Kingston
When: 11:45-12:45
Where: John Gerretsen’s Office at 303 Bagot Street, Suite #2, La Salle Mews Plaza
Why: To drive home the message to Minister Gerretsen that it is unacceptable for Drummond to tamper with the health care system without listening to the public first

For more information please call Matthew Gventer at 613.542.5834

Also, a friendly reminder to forward additional upcoming meeting and event details to ohc@sympatico.ca so that we can assist in publicizing.

Many Thanks,
Ontario Health Coalition

Send a letter to Harper and McGuinty

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:30:23 +0000

Mr. Harper and Mr. McGuinty:

I’m outraged that US corporation Caterpillar is closing its Electro-Motive plant in London, Ontario, abandoning 450 workers, their families, and the community.

Caterpillar just reported that annual profits rose 83% to a record $4.9 billion; the CEO of Caterpillar was paid more than $10 million last year; it’s pure greed that the company ordered its workers to take a 50% cut in wages, locked them out of work and shut the plant.

Click here to continue

ServiceOntario Information Picket (Kingston)

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:03:46 +0000

Update February 4, 2012 – Photos of the event can be found on the Kingston Area Council site here.

Time: Friday, February 3rd from 12pm to 1pm
Location: ServiceOntario offices at 1201 Division Street (just south of Division and Hwy 401 on the east side. The plaza with the Shoppers Drug Mart in it)

We believe the privatization of ServiceOntario will result in:

: Click here to download the PDF

• Increased risk of identity theft and fraud;
• The loss of government revenue ($2.7 billion annually) that funds programs like health care and education;
• Higher user fees for the public; and
• The closure of some ServiceOntario counters.

The downloading of services and the potential outsourcing/privatization of ServiceOntario remains a serious and very real threat to the Kingston community.

Come out, show your support, and help educate the public. With the Drummond report looming, it’s now time to step up and make some noise. Let people know whats happening!

Resources:
PDF Flyer – ServiceOntario Privatization Flyer
PDF Memo from OPSEU – Join our campaign opposing the privatization of ServiceOntario

Harper’s contempt for Canadians

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:00:17 +0000

Between 1980 and 2005 the net real increase in pay for working Canadians increased by only $51. Family debt should not come as a surprise to Bay Streets chosen champions the Federal and Provincial Conservative Parties. Beginning with Harris, Bill 7 and the series of changes to the Employment Standards Act, which included repeal of the prohibition of replacement workers (SCABS) during strikes, the extension of the work week to 60 hours from 40, the four-week averaging of overtime and the freezing of the minimum wage for nine years, Ontario’s Conservatives robbed Ontario’s working families of tens of thousands of dollars in earned wages and gifted that labour to Canada’s wealthiest corporations and families. Even working full time, many families remain mired in poverty. Yet Harper and Hudak are determined to convince you oxymoronically, that the only way to grow the economy is to start with destroying thousands of good jobs!

Within days of seizing power, Harper forced two tier contracts on workers at Air Canada and CUPW, ensuring young workers earn $6/hr less than their more experienced coworkers and will never have the opportunity to access a defined benefit pension plan, simply because they are young. Quick to follow Harper’s lead, massively profitable multinational corporations like Caterpillar and Rio Tinto have locked out Canadian workers after demanding huge roll backs in wages and benefits. This despite over a decade of receiving extravagant, fiscally irresponsible and completely ineffective corporate tax cuts. Caterpillar alone received over $5 million in tax breaks from the Harper government in 2008. These lockouts follow on the heels of last year’s bitter Vale Inco strike, when once again Conservatives stood quietly aside while a foreign owned multinational invited into Canada by them openly attacked working families.

Conservative contempt for working Canadians extends far beyond the shop floor. Harper’s often illegal and utterly underhanded assault on the Canadian Wheat Board should put all farm families on notice that under this government there will be no place for successful family farms.

Harper’s latest victims are those nearing retirement. Having never lifted anything heavier than a pencil, or worked an assembly line for piece work, this elitist has now decided that the poorest of Canada’s future retirees should take a $12,000 hit by moving the retirement age to 67 from 65. He says pensions are unaffordable, while he delivers on the latest installment of a six billion annual corporate tax break.

On the behest of special interests of multi-national oil companies, Harper has embarked on a plan which will ship an estimated 27,000 good paying jobs out of the country through any pipeline that will reach beyond Canada’s boarders. His government’s development strategy would make a third world despot blush with shame.

In fact, Canada under successive Harper governments is the only major country in the world that has neither a national industrial strategy nor a national energy plan!

Harper’s government is the only one in Canadian history to be found in contempt of Parliament, and three of his senior Ministers Bev Oda, Tony Clement, and Peter McKay have been caught in public lies.

Our Local MP Gord Brown says he is proud of his government’s record, but taken together there really can only be one conclusion, Stephen Harper and his conservatives are nothing more than Sock puppets for multi-national corporate special interests.

David Lundy
Regional Vice President OPSEU

Cover photo by kashmera on Flickr