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Premier has no plan to deal with soaring BC job losses
March 13, 2009
VANCOUVER - Job numbers released today by Statistics Canada show British Columbia continues to lose jobs faster than any other province in the country. In the last 12 months, BC’s unemployment rate has jumped more than 60 percent and continues to climb. Almost 70,000 full-time jobs have been lost in the BC in the last year.
“The Campbell government has no plan in place to address the escalating job losses that are causing real hardship for families across the province,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. “Instead of photo opportunities with western premiers, Gordon Campbell’s government needs to develop an emergency plan that protects and creates jobs.”
The Federation is calling for a moratorium on public sector job cuts. Premier Campbell has stated he anticipates 30 percent job cuts across the public service.
The Federation is also calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $10 an hour. BC is the only province in Canada that did not increase its minimum wage last year. BC will soon have the lowest minimum wage in the country.
The provincial government also needs to develop a forest strategy that reverses the staggering job losses that are devastating forest-based communities and families all around BC.
“For months, Gordon Campbell imagined BC would somehow avoid this economic collapse and now he’s ignoring the real pain it’s causing families,” Sinclair added. “We urgently need a plan that puts people back to work.”
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For more information: Evan Stewart, Director of Communication (604) 430-1421.
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