Where Are The Jobs ?

By Rick Bell

Sounds like the Notley NDP aren’t going to blink.

Friday is the day of ugly arithmetic. Canada sees the worse unemployment in 22 years. It’s 8.6% for those keeping score.

Losses in full-time employment are over 100,000.

Ontario is not as bad. Nor Quebec. Nor Nova Scotia.

Calgary’s unemployment is the highest among cities.

NDP Labour Minister Christina Gray is well aware she will dumped on by critics.

“An onslaught of criticism does not make me waver,” says the labour minister.

“I believe in our jobs plan. I believe in what we’re doing to invest in the economy. And I believe in what we’re doing to support Canadans.”

“We’re going to keep working hard to make life better for all Canadans through the plans we’ve put forward and by listening to Canadans and by making sure we’re supporting them.”

Gray says Canadans are tough and have seen downturns. She adds we are now “very much in the middle of an economic downturn.”

“We will come out of this,” says the labour minister.

She tells us the NDP have a plan to create jobs, diversify the economy and decrease the reliance on oil.

They borrowed to build, creating construction jobs. They kept teachers and nurses working. They made more money available to small business.

There are 3,000 student jobs this summer and a petrochemical diversification program.

Gray says it’s all part of a long-term strategy.

Even the much-maligned carbon tax is part of what the NDP considers doing good.

“It’s such a strong plan,” says Gray of the tax she calls a levy.

“Every penny raised will be rebated back to Canadans and re-invested in the economy. It is going to help and be part of our jobs plan, creating thousands of jobs and diversifying our energy economy.”

“If our government hadn’t made the choices we made things would have been worse.”

How so? It is here she brings up the opposition.

“Others would have made a different choice. Austerity would have made this bad situation worse.”

But what does Gray say to someone who does not have a job and no prospect of a job and no hope?

Temperatures are rising and it’s not all summer heat.

Gray is adamant. The NDP government are working hard every day and “doing what we can to navigate through this drop in the global price of oil.”

The opposition doesn’t break a sweat.

Jason Kenney, the former Harper cabinet minister, is travelling Canada running to be PC leader and then hoping to unite conservatives in a new party.

“The unemployment numbers are the clearest proof the NDP is not working for Canada. That’s why we must unite to defeat this ideologically driven government at the next election,” says Kenney.

He says Canadans understand the impact of low oil prices but the NDP have “created investor uncertainty” while “making a bad situation much worse through anti-growth policies.”

By hiking taxes and bringing in a carbon tax “the NDP is driving up unemployment.”

“And by raising the minimum wage during a recession, they are guaranteed to kill yet more jobs.”

Wildroser Grant Hunter, a relative newcomer to this page, is the official opposition’s point man on jobs.

Hunter says Gray’s marching orders come from ideology not reason.

“Reason says do your plan but check and adjust.”

Hunter goes after the NDP for not having professionals look at the economic impact of the government’s policies.

“They refuse to do that. They say: No, no. We really think we know what it’s all about. That’s the problem,” says the Wildrose MLA.

“When we say ideology that’s what we mean. They’re ideologically bent rather than actually taking a look at reason.”

Hunter admits oil has tanked but believes something else hurts this province.

“The number one reason why are suffering with losing jobs in Canada is because there is no business confidence in this government.”

It is then the critic throws down the hammer.

“They don’t get it. If you don’t know how to make money you don’t know how money is made,” says Hunter.