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To all those who hated Mike Harris:
You better have an even bigger hate on for Dalton Mcguinty.
He broke promises
He raised taxes
He got us into debt
and now we are about to have the biggest strike ever in Ontario history.
At least when Mike Harris pissed people off, he was doing it for a good reason.
Also a good lesson is never listen to unions when they talk politics. They hate the liberals, conservatives and NDP equally. They always support the opposing party because this is how they get what they want. They will never be happy.
| quote: | 12:01am Thursday.
That’s when CUPE leader Sid Ryan says more than 100,000 members of his union will leave their posts in an illegal walkout, plunging parts of Ontario in chaos.
The move is in response to the third reading of Bill 206, the legislation that will allow firefighters and police to retire early, a benefit that won’t be applied to any other workers.
A walkout would immediately shutter at least 82 Toronto schools, end garbage collection in areas of the city where it’s not contracted out, stop snow clearing, close daycares and license offices and create real headaches for parents.
Ryan’s announcement came minutes after M.P.P. Brad Duguid confirmed to CityOnline that the third and final reading of the bill that would trigger the strike would be held Tuesday afternoon at Queen’s Park.
Despite the labour Sword of Damocles hanging over the province, Duguid still hopes Ryan can be persuaded not to pull the trigger.
"First off, we don't know what to expect. Our hope is still that we'll get a call from Mr. Ryan and he'll accept what we offered - what we thought was an honourable way out for him and his union," Duguid said.
"We don't think that an illegal strike is appropriate at this juncture. We believe it would be a colossal waste of time for his members. The government intends to move forward. We made that clear.
"I'm not sure why they're going out on strike. They can protest all they want, but I certainly hope they wouldn't inconvenience all Ontarians. The government has a right and duty to the people of this province to make legislation in their best interest."
The bill is expected come up for final reading at about 3 or 3:30pm.
Between 400 and 500 local heads of the CUPE met Tuesday to discuss their strike strategy after no progress was made over the weekend to address union concerns.
Ryan contends that by refusing to talk with union members about Bill 206, the provincial Liberals are forcing them to strike. They have a 93 percent mandate to do so.
"The members are livid and ready to fight but I don't want to disrupt services in the this province," he said. "I want the Premier to sit down and have some meaningful dialogue."
The Ontario CUPE head said rotating strikes are an option or what he says is his preference – a full walkout.
But he makes it clear it won't last only one day.
"There'll be a whole bunch of strategies that will be talked about, but strike will be at the heart of it all. There won't be a strategy other than strike now," Ryan said, calling Dalton McGuinty’s government "the most unfriendly labour government that we've seen in a long time," including that of former Conservative premier Mike Harris.
The Premier hasn’t budged on his views – saying there have already been two rounds of committee hearings and several amendments to the proposed legislation.
"I think there's something wrong for any group to say because we are unhappy with the outcome of a lawful process, we are going to protest that in an unlawful way," McGuinty said, adding that if a strike occurs he’ll consult with his attorney general for any legal options he may have. "I don't think that's acceptable."
The tabled plans would also call for a two-thirds majority from the board in order to change benefit and contribution levels, which Ryan said would make it impossible for municipal workers to better their pension benefits.
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I dont ever remember a time when schools were closed, paramedics were not working, garbage collectors were not collecting, and plows were idle ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
I really hope Mcsquinty feels this one at election time.
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| quote: | Originally posted by jester
Everything in this country is illegal. |
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery…" Winston Churchill
"If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law" - Winston Churchill
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