Liberal Budget Fails Canadians Trapped in Part-Time Work
Ottawa, ON – Garnett Genuis, Conservative Shadow Minister for Employment, released the following statement on the Labour Force Survey numbers for November:
“As Canadians continue to struggle to put food on the table, the Liberals’ budget fails to address the ongoing jobs crisis. The latest Labour Force Survey reveals workers are being forced to settle for part-time jobs as they can’t find full-time work with a weak economy. Nearly 1 in 5 people who work part-time wanted to work full-time but couldn’t find full-time work, with Statistics Canada reporting that this is ‘because of economic or business conditions, or because they could not find full-time work.’
“It’s driven by a decline in full-time work, with 9,400 fewer Canadians being employed full-time. The collapse in full-time positions was especially severe in Central Canada, with Quebec alone losing over 35,000 full-time jobs last month.
“Meanwhile, nearly 30,000 Canadians over the age of 55 started working part-time year-over-year, as seniors are being forced back into the workforce with the rising cost of living. 10,000 of those were in the last month alone, as grocery bills have continued to tick higher.
“Food prices have more than doubled since the Liberals took office, rising to $338 per week next year. This has led to Canadians ‘compromising healthy food choices in favour of more cost-effective yet less nutritious options.’
“With full-time opportunities disappearing, more and more Canadians are being pushed into part-time work just to cover basic necessities. Instead of addressing the structural problems driving these losses, the Liberals are relying on calculation tricks that equate part-time work with full-time work – masking the real hardship faced by Canadian families.
“Canadians deserve a government that strengthens the economy, supports workers in every sector, and restores the hope of stable, full-time employment. A country where our workers can earn powerful paycheques, own their own homes and raise the next generation in peace and security.
“Conservatives will unleash Canada’s economy by cutting taxes to drive reinvestment, and repealing the red tape that is choking growth to deliver jobs that bring home stronger take-home pay.”