(Toronto) - PC Party Labour Critic Randy Hillier and Leader Tim Hudak unveiled a bold new policy white paper on Labour reform Paths to Prosperity: Flexible Labour Markets.

“Ontario under the Liberal Party is on a path to becoming a ‘rustbelt’ province,” said MPP Randy Hillier. “Some seem to be content with this economic decline, mediocrity and a stagnant standard of living. But not me- We believe in jobs and prosperity. That’s why we’ve launched this white paper.”

The paper proposes bold reforms in key areas: giving the individual worker a choice whether to become or remain a union member; making union leaders more accountable to unionized employees; modernizing outdated tendering rules to open up free-market competition; and reforming Ontario’s workplace agencies to encourage – not discourage – a more flexible workforce and job creation.

“The world has changed, and our economy has changed with it,” Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said. “But the rules governing the workplace, and the way unions are run, have not. It’s time to open up economic opportunities for individual workers, not union bosses.”

“We can be content with out-dated protectionist laws that drive jobs out of Ontario, hamper investment and that have been condemned as human rights violations the world over. 600,000 people are out of work today. Income growth has been virtually non-existent under McGuinty; the path must be altered” said Hillier.

“We can choose a different path. We can cast off the shackles of mediocrity. We can return to growth. As an electrician and now as an elected official, I have seen the root problems directly. Let’s tackle these problems head-on.”