News Release: Too much, Too Fast on Labour Relations and Employment Standards Changes

Labour Relations and Employment Standards Changes Too Much, Too Fast        
The Keep Ontario Working coalition calls for Ontario Government to give employers more time to adjust to sweeping reforms

PETERBOROUGH, July 10, 2017: The Keep Ontario Working group, a coalition of Ontario’s leading industry and sector associations, has sent an open letter to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne which urges the Government of Ontario to slow down the implementation of Bill 148.

The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act will bring about major changes in less than six months, and Ontario’s employer community is concerned that the pace of change will seriously injure our economic growth. The Keep Ontario Working coalition is calling on the provincial government to give businesses more time to better prepare.
                    
As part of the Ontario Chamber Network the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is supportive of the letter.   “Recently, a roundtable with 24 businesses from all sectors of the Peterborough economy expressed the same message - that the changes were too much, too fast,” says Stuart Harrison, President & CEO, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. “Businesses need to time to adapt and have told us that without time they are forecasting fewer hours, fewer new jobs, increased prices and, in some cases, more automation.”

In their letter, the Keep Ontario Working group calls on the government to consider the timing of implementation. As it stands now, Ontario’s minimum wage will increase by 32 per cent in only 18 months.
                    
“To demonstrate true fairness and compassion for workers, we must ensure Ontario has a strong economy to help create jobs and increase economic growth,” said Karl Baldauf, Vice President of Policy and Government Relations at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) and Spokesperson for the Keep Ontario Working Coalition. “To plan effectively and protect jobs, employers need predictability and time to adjust to these changes. There is no way to absorb and adjust to a 32 per cent hit in less than 18 months.”
                    
The Keep Ontario Working coalition has commissioned its own an independent economic analysis to better understand the economic impact of these changes. The results of the coalition’s economic analysis will be shared this coming August.
                    
Read the open letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne
                    
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The Keep Ontario Working Coalition (KOW) is a broad-spectrum group of business sector representatives concerned with sound public policy to help produce jobs and grow Ontario. For more information on the Keep Ontario Working coalition please visit www.keepontarioworking.ca.
                    
Media Contact:
Sandra Dueck
Policy Analyst/Communications Specialist
sandra@peterboroughchamber.ca or 705.748.9771 x215