"We got to make sure that we elect progressive candidates, make sure we push back against this right wing attack on workers."
Sid Ryan, OFL President

By William Doyle-Marshall
Election is on the lips of most Ontarians especially with October 6 near at hand – the day voters will cast their ballots. There is optimism and fear as the political parties make bold attempts in search of voters' approval.
The Ontario Liberal Party has provided in its campaign platform for a higher tobacco tax revenue growth, based on two main factors. First, the government has introduced new measures since the 2011 Budget to combat contraband tobacco, including the recently passed Supporting Smoke-Free Ontario by Reducing Contraband Tobacco Act, 2011. Second, further measures to combat contraband tobacco are contained in its Plan, including doubling the resources available for contraband enforcement by investing an additional $34 million per year.
In an uncertain global economy, Ontario Liberals boast of boldly confronting the challenges that face us, and setting out a plan to get the province through. The party warns that the PC and the NDP would "take us off-track and put our fragile recovery at risk with their reckless schemes".
To guard against changes to the economic outlook, the Liberal Plan includes a reserve of $700 million in 2011-12, growing to $1 billion in 2012-13 and each year thereafter.
At the September meeting of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, President Thomas Saras objected to PC Leader Tim Hudak calling new Canadians 'foreigners' in response to the Liberal's plan to encourage employers to hire new Canadians. The PC leader failed to attend the NEPMCC meeting. Saras said he was invited along with other party leaders to address members on their election platform.
"I cannot accept in a multicultural society a leader of a political party who is fighting for power to come out and call people who are coming to this country for their own future and to dedicate themselves to the future of the country, 'foreigners'. I am not a foreigner and I am quite sure none of you (members of the council) feel as a foreigner," Saras said.
Regarding the leader's absence from the NEPMCC meeting Saras said two members (one man and one woman) of the party were present during NDP Leader Andrea' Horwath's presentation. They left at the start of question and answer period.

Horwath insisted that her campaign puts people first. The people of Ontario deserve a higher standard of political debate than what exists, she argued. New Democrats offer change that will make life more affordable; that tackles the job crisis head-on; that measures progress not by perks and tax breaks for wealthy corporations but by whether every day families can afford to pay their bills; could develop the skills they need and save enough money to send their children to university, the leader outlined.
Trade unionists however are cautions. At the start of the annual Labour Day parade at Nathan Phillips Square, downtown Toronto, they warned workers of a right-wing threat to suppress and rob them of good paying jobs. Of course anti-union forces would never agree that workers are paid fairly. Some actually accuse workers of not working to honestly earn their pay cheques.
Jenny Ahn, a director of the Canadian Auto Workers Union said they were celebrating all their struggles and victories to make work a better daily life, to make their communities better for their families, to make the City of Toronto a better place for all workers as well as those right across the country. She reminded the gathering that unions represent their members, their communities and brothers and sisters who don't belong to unions as well, because they are equally important as workers.
Sid Ryan, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, representing over one million workers in the province appealed for labour unity to avoid a possible Tory election victory next month.
Predicting a tumultuous period in the history of the labour movement with a Harper Government, with a right wing neanderthal at City Hall and a possible Ontario Tory Government, Ryan warned that unless labour united in the province this labour movement is going to have to come together like never before.
John Cartwright, president of Toronto and York Region Labour Council referred to the campaign to "Defend Public Services" and advised private sector workers their place is on the front line defending public services because it is there for all families.
He's determined not to see good jobs turned into poverty jobs. For City of Toronto cleaners who right now earn a wage they can raise their family on, to have those jobs outsourced to contractors who will pay minimum poverty wages, Cartwright argued "that's not the kind of Toronto we want".