O’Toole’s rhetoric cannot hide his record of hurting workers

Erin O’Toole has proven time and again he is no friend of working Canadians

Erin O’Toole’s policy announcement today was short on details and left more questions than answers. Canadians are left asking:

• Would worker representatives have the same rights and powers as the other Board directors?
• Will they have access to all the same financial and corporate information?
• Can O’Toole name any CEOs of federally regulated companies he has spoken to who welcome scrutiny of their corporation on issues like executive compensation by the workers they employ?
• What sanctions would O’Toole impose on companies that refuse to comply?

“Erin O’Toole won’t provide details because he knows full well his policy has no teeth and is a non-starter for these companies,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Mr. O’Toole’s record is one of attacking workers and weakening unions. His opportunistic rhetoric and empty promises today do nothing to change that.”

As cabinet minister under Stephen Harper, Erin O’Toole attacked workers’ right to organize and helped weaken Canada’s unions when he voted to pass bills that took away the rights of workers to refuse dangerous work, made organizing more difficult and gave new powers to the Minister of Labour to hold over unions.

“Mr. O’Toole not only voted to strip away the rights of workers, when he had the chance to reverse these damaging laws, he refused,” said Bruske. “As leader of the Conservative Party, he put big business ahead of emergency help for workers and families. Working Canadians have never been Mr. O’Toole’s priority.”

Bruske added that while Erin O’Toole sat around the cabinet table, Conservatives signed on to short-sighted trade deals that exported away thousands of good jobs and an investment deal with China that exploited workers, put the environment at risk and left Canada vulnerable to being sued by China.

“Canadians can’t risk Erin O’Toole,” concluded Bruske. “He has shown time and again, he is no friend to working Canadians.”