Ontario Liberal and NDP leaders are voicing their concerns over the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)’s recent move to lay off hundreds of employees and shut down regional offices in northern Ontario.
On Thursday, 238 WSIB staff members in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, and Timmins found out they will lose their jobs as northern offices prepare to close. The remaining positions will be relocated elsewhere in the province.
In a conversation with Acadia on Friday, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party John Fraser criticized Premier Doug Ford’s administration for these job cuts, pointing out that northern communities are already facing economic challenges like layoffs, factory closures, and high unemployment rates.
“It’s just a total disconnect from what the government should be doing, which should be protecting these jobs in the north,” Fraser said.
Fraser emphasized that Northern Ontario has specific issues to deal with, such as vast distances between towns and industries like mining and forestry that require specialized workplace health and safety considerations.
“You can’t run everything from downtown offices in Toronto. Ontario is a big place. You need to spread those services around the province. The local realities are often that people need to travel farther to get healthcare; it’s harder to get some services; and home care is more difficult depending on the community you’re in,” he said.
Fraser is also urging both the public and northern cabinet ministers (specifically Greg Rickford, Georgie Pirie, and Victor Fedeli) to advocate for reversing this decision.
“Northerners need to speak up and let their members of government know how wrong this is. I’m shocked that there are three ministers in the north and yet this is still happening. They should be screaming bloody murder. Why are you taking these good jobs? The Premier can reverse this, and the ministers in the north should be moving internally to undo this,” he said.
The Progressive Conservative government has been reached out for comments. This story will be updated if a response comes through.
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