Labour and community activists and allies filled the OPSEU hall in North Bay, anxious to discuss what is at stake under a Ford government in the months and years to come, during a regional activation meeting hosted by the Ontario Federation of Labour and the North Bay District Labour Council.
The North Bay stop was the second of what is expected to be over a dozen similar meetings held across the province over the coming months, to devise strategies to “take back Ontario.“
“It is to talk about Premier Doug Ford’s agenda, what he has done, the cuts that he has made, and then decide what it is we’re going to do, and how we’re going to combat this, and how we’re going to come together and use the power of many to get the things we need, here in Ontario. And what is best for Ontarians,” said Patty Coates, Secretary-Treasurer for the Ontario Federation of Labour.
Coates says people want their voices to be heard.
“The government is a majority government, and they said they would listen to the people, that they would listen to the frontline workers, and we know they’re not listening to the people who really need to be listened to,” said Coates.
“What we’re trying to do is gather people together and encourage them to get out into their communities, talk to people, listen to people about what is important to them. And we want them to get out and talk to their MPP, and let them know they’re not happy, that they are the people of Ontario, and this government can do far better.”
The OFL lists among its primary concerns, health and education, cuts and the privatization of public services.
“The prime example is the announcement with regards to our health care system and the super agency. What it means is that our tax dollars are going to be given to corporations, private companies, and who knows, to run certain services within our health care system. The new potential legislation also gives so much power to the super agency, and to the government and the minister and there’s no accountability, there’s no transparency, and if I remember correctly, the conservatives and Doug Ford ran on transparency and accountability, and we know that’s not going to happen.”
Part of the discussions at the regional meetings touched on the OFL Power of Many campaign, and its short and long-term goals, how provincial cuts have impacted the workplace and community and developing an action plan for moving forward.
Part of its plan is to launch a province-wide rapid response network to coordinate the local fightback efforts.
“There’s going to be a number of things we’re going to have to do over the next several years in preparation for the election coming up in 2022. There could be rallies, getting people together and speaking to their MPP. There could be something at Queen’s Park. On April 30th there is a huge rally at Queen’s Park and that is for health care, and we’re doing that supporting the Ontario Health Coalition who is one of our community partners. So we’ll let the government know we’re not happy” said Coates.
“We also know there is a budget coming up. We don’t know what is going to be in that budget, but we can imagine what is going to be in that budget. So we also need to mobilize as to what we’re going to do to have our voices heard. We need to be more vocal, and we need to get out there, and let our Conservative MPP’s know that we’re not happy.”
President of the North Bay and District Labour Council Henri Giroux says the provincial government is moving too quickly.
“We’re actually trying to see where people are at, and what they would like to change, to slow down the government right now. There’s so many things that they’re doing, and they’re doing it way too fast,” said Giroux.
“In this room tonight we have lots of labour people, we also have community allies, people from environmental, from autism, and we’re trying to put a plan together that instead of me going to MPP Vic Fedeli’s office with a few labour people, and the autism group go there by themselves, to create a bigger pool, to let them know that people are upset, that they’re going too fast, and to try and slow them down.”
Giroux wants people to get on board, saying by working together, they will become united as one strong voice for the community
The province-wide Power of Many, Take Back Ontario conference planned for March 25 in Toronto, will bring together labour leaders, activists, and community allies to coordinate efforts as the OFL continues its fight against the province.