Labour reacts to the shutdown of Parliament
OTTAWA ... The President of the Canadian Labour Congress has reacted to todays shutdown of Parliament by the Prime Minister, saying it will cost people their jobs and delay much-needed action to confront the economic crisis.
-Our country is standing on the edge of an economic crisis. People are losing their jobs and watching their retirement savings evaporate. While governments around the world are taking action to stimulate their economies our Prime Minister has shut Parliament down. This is not what the country needs. We need Parliament to get to work," said Georgetti.
Georgetti compared the Prime Minister to an employer trying to avoid signing a collective agreement.
-Hes acting just like one of those bad bosses when he cant get his way at the bargaining table. Instead of working for a solution, he shuts the doors and locks everyone out. Our democratically-elected Members of Parliament just got locked out of their jobs. The majority of them want to go to work for the good of the country. The majority of them want to support an economic plan to save jobs and protect our economy. Now they cant do that because the Prime Minister has shut our democracy down," says Georgetti.
Georgetti says that Canadians are going to lose their jobs because of what the Prime Minister has done today.
-How many factories and mills are going to close? How many people are going to lose their jobs? How many people are going to be denied Employment Insurance and forced to watch their pensions disappear while the Prime Minister plays politics? This is a sad day for Canada," says Georgetti.
The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca