The centrepieceis a pledge to cut big business corporate tax from 11.5 percent to 8 percent, and simultaneously eliminate 100,000 public sector jobs.
Hudak’s corporate tax cut would cost the Ontario government $20 billion in tax revenues over eight years. It would also create few if any jobs. The biggest beneficiaries would be the banking, finance and insurance industry, and about half the benefits would flow directly to the top one percent of Ontarians—those making over $250,000 annually. CUPE economist Toby Sanger’s recent commentary in the Toronto Star (Tim Hudak’s Millionaires’ Jobs Plan) argues that if over $7 billion in annual tax cuts from McGuinty, Harper and Martin governments didn’t create any jobs or boost wages, why should we expect anything different from Hudak?
In fact, Hudak’s million jobs scam will destroy thousands of jobs and increase unemployment. Hudak multiplied each job he was told his measures would create by eight, something that was first publicly exposed by Unifor economist Jim Stanford. But even using the numbers they commissioned, it turns out Hudak’s plan would actually increase Ontario’s unemployment rate to 9 per cent or higher once labour force growth is factored in, as this analysis of his plan by CUPE’s economist and the Ontario Federation of Labour shows.
This report by CUPE demonstrates how many public and private sector jobs could be destroyed by Hudak’s plan, and how it would increase unemployment for over 40 communities across the province.
Hudak is directly targeting public services and public sector workers, including the 250,000 CUPE members across Ontario, with his plans to eliminate 10 percent of Ontario’s public sector workforce. His plan would devastate families, shred public services, and sharply increase unemployment, particularly in smaller cities and communities.
Check out CUPE Ontario’s election site, which includes an interactive map showing how these cuts could affect different communities.
And on June 12, vote.