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TORONTO, Monday, August 14
- Today the Keep Ontario Working Coalition (KOW), in which CFA is a member, released the first and only independent economic impact analysis of Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act. Conducted by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA), the study revealed that if the legislation is implemented as currently drafted, there will be significant, sudden and sizable uncertainty for Ontario jobs, economy and communities.
The study concludes that these vast, unprecedented reforms will put about 185,000 jobs at risk in the first two years, greatly impacting Ontario's most vulnerable workers.
CANCEA was commissioned by the KOW coalition to measure the potential impacts of six key areas of change in Bill 148, including changes to minimum wages, "equal pay" provisions, vacation, scheduling, personal emergency leave (PEL) and unionization.
Data from the economic impact analysis shows:
- $23 billion hit to business over the next two years alone
- 185,000 Ontario jobs will be at immediate risk over the next two years
- 30,000 of the jobs at risk are youth under 25
- 96,000 employees at risk are expected to be women
- 50 per cent increase to inflation for this year and the foreseeable future. The cost of everyday consumer goods and services will go up by $1,300 per household on average each and every year
- The Ontario government would need to borrow $440 million more to cover the increases in new costs from this legislation. If the government were to provide offsets to businesses, as they have indicated, the province's treasury will take a bigger hit
- Municipalities will be forced to increase employee wages by $500 million without additional offsetting revenues
In the coming weeks and months, the KOW coalition will release additional components to the economic impact analysis and CFA will continue to work with government to ensure the voice of the franchise industry is heard.
Should you have any questions, please contact Ryan Eickmeier, Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy a
t
[email protected] or 416-695-2896 ext. 297.
About the Keep Ontario Working Coalition:
The Keep Ontario Working Coalition (KOW) is a broad-spectrum group of business sector representatives concerned with sound public policy to help produce jobs and grow Ontario. For more information please visit www.keepontarioworking.ca. Members include:
- Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS)
- Canadian Franchise Association (CFA)
- Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG)
- Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC)
- Food and Beverage Ontario (FBO)
- National Association of Canada Consulting Businesses (NACCB Canada)
- Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA)
- Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC)
- Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
- Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA)
- Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA)
- Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)
- Restaurants Canada Retail Council of Canada (RCC)
- Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO)
About CANCEA:
CANCEA is a state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research organization that is dedicated to objective, independent and evidence based analysis. They have a long history of providing holistic and collaborative understanding of the short- and long-term risks and returns behind policy decisions and prosperity. For more, go to cancea.ca.
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