Green Party of Ontario Leader, Mike Schreiner, issued the following statement in response to the October jobs numbers:

“The Premier wants us to believe that living wages and a price on pollution are killing jobs. But these solid jobs numbers tell a different story and blow a hole in Doug Ford’s fear-mongering and spin. We don’t need to punish workers and end climate action to jump-start the economy.

The Premier continues to operate on false premises. Paying a living wage allows low-income earners to spend more money locally. Putting a price on pollution drives low-carbon innovation and tells job creators that Ontario wants in on the $26 trillion global clean economy.

But this is a government driven by ideology over evidence and it’s a reckless path.

I encourage the Premier to look at the positive results of the minimum wage increase in Alberta. I encourage him to look at the best performing economies in Canada and North America, which all have a price on pollution.

We don’t need border signs or legislation that drags us back to the last century. We need evidence-based decisions that create jobs that put people and planet first.”