[R-G] Union leaders worry more jobs will be lost by suspension of Parliament

[Anthony Fenton]

Union leaders worry more jobs will be lost by suspension of Parliament

2 hours ago

TORONTO — Scores of Canadians who have managed to hold onto their jobs  
in the beleaguered auto and forestry industries could be unemployed in  
the coming weeks in the wake of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's  
successful bid to suspend Parliament, union leaders said Thursday.

A spirited gathering of labour representatives in support of a Liberal- 
NDP coalition government turned sombre as word came in that Gov. Gen.  
Michaelle Jean allowed the minority Conservatives to hold onto power,  
at least until January.

The clearly deflated leaders of the Communications, Energy and  
Paperworkers, Canadian Auto Workers, and United Steelworkers were  
calling on Jean to allow a confidence vote Monday that could have  
toppled the government.

"To think that the Governor General can prolong this insane economic  
insecurity driven by Stephen Harper and (Finance Minister) Jim  
Flaherty is wrong-headed," said CAW president Ken Lewenza, who  
represents 250,000 members.

"(The Governor General) made a very poor decision on behalf of  
Canadians," said Lewenza. "It's a sad day for democracy."

With Parliament not expected to resume until late January, the unions  
are worried about what a delay in an economic stimulus package could  
mean for their members.

"For us, it's total chaos because there's no government to talk to,"  
said Dave Coles of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union,  
which represents some 150,000 workers in the forest industry.

"I think that not only will Canadians be disappointed, but many of  
them will lose their jobs as a result of (Harper's) action today."

Coles and Lewenza said that they wanted the confidence vote to proceed  
as it likely would have resulted in a Liberal-NDP coalition  
government, which had promised an immediate economic stimulus program.

Coles pointed to Thursday's announced closure of AbitibiBowater's  
Grand Falls, N.L., newsprint mill and the loss of 1,100 jobs as a sign  
of what's to come if industries don't get help from Ottawa sooner  
rather than later.

"We may not have an industry left the way this is going," Coles said,  
pointing to several other plants slated to close in coming days.

In recent weeks, job cuts in the forestry industry have slashed 30,000  
members from ranks of the forestry union, Coles said.

"There is no time to waste... We don't have eight weeks to wait."

A Liberal-NDP coalition government backed by the Bloc Quebecois  
appears ready to act where the Harper Conservatives have failed, the  
unions argued.

"Right now, we need all of our political leaders to work together for  
the good of the country and the economy," Ken Neumann, president of  
the steel workers' union which represents 280,000 workers, said in a  
statement. Neumann was unable to attend Thursday's press conference.

The union leaders were also extremely critical of Harper's attacks on  
Quebec separatists and the Bloc Quebecois, and accused him of trying  
to divide the country and play politics at such a critical time.

Quebecers are just as concerned about the economy as anywhere else in  
the country, Lewenza said.