HALIFAX, NS – The Public Service Alliance of Canada with affiliates of the Canadian Labour Congress, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and Halifax and Dartmouth District Labour Council, as well as community partners, will gather Thursday to watch and critique the federal budget.
More and more economists and financial analysts are questioning the Harper Conservatives’ obsession with bringing the deficit down to zero. A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimates that up to 68,000 jobs would be cut just from the 2010 and 2011 austerity measures of the federal government. This budget could push that number to 100,000. It is anticipated that it will cut more jobs, creating higher unemployment and economic harm in small communities that depend on these jobs.
The PSAC rejects the Conservative austerity agenda and calls on the government to recognize that investing in public sector renewal is essential to building and maintaining a strong Canadian economy.
“Canadians rely on public services, especially during difficult economic times. Destroying public services will harm Canadians in this generation and the next,” says Jeannie Baldwin, PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President. “These services reduce inequality and promote economic, social, and environmental security.”
At Thursday’s Budget Watch spokespeople from a range of concerned stakeholder groups will address the Budget’s potential fallout. Representatives from the PSAC, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Nova Scotia Health Care Coalition, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Ecology Action Centre and the Nova Scotia Federation of Union Retirees will comment. Nova Scotia Federation of Labour President Rick Clarke will chair.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is a national union with over 180,000 members, most of whom are federal government workers who everyday deliver quality public services to Canadians.
What: Budget Watch
When: 4:30, Thursday, March 29, 2012
Where: 2629 Agricola Street, The Italian Canadian Cultural Association Club Room
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Media are invited. Spokespeople, including public sector workers facing their own job loss, will be available on site for comment.
Contact Lesley Thompson, Communications Officer, PSAC, 902-471-6201