‘Open for business’ signs unveiled at summit
Signs proclaiming “Welcome to Ontario, Open for business” will soon adorn highways near border crossings in Niagara and throughout the province, unveiled by Premier Doug Ford as the three-day Ontario Economic Summit came to an end in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Friday.
“In every corner of the province, we are making Ontario open for business once again. And we’re not going to be shy about it,” Ford told the crowd of hundreds of business and political leaders from across the province.
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Ford unveiled the design for the new signs that will be installed in the next few weeks.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Ontario is open for business,” Ford said. “We want people to see it. And with the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, we want them to feel it as well.”
He said the legislation, announced earlier this week, will cut red tape for businesses that “is chasing jobs out of Ontario.”
“We have 385,000 regulations in Ontario. … We have a team together and we’re going to start slashing those regulations to make sure we create an environment to thrive and be prosperous in Ontario,” he added.
Ford also discussed his government’s decision to repeal Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act — a move that led to a protest outside as Ford was speaking.
“The days of job-cutting policies written by people who have never even run a business, who
add insult to injury now they’ve decided to not go ahead with a very basic minimum wage increase,” the NDP representative said.
Gates said if you want to say you’re open for business, “you have to include everybody.”
“You have to include workers, you have to include the families, you have to include the communities. That’s not what’s happening today.”
He said when 20 per cent of Ontario’s children “are going to be hungry tonight,” the best way to help them is to ensure their parents are paid enough money to sustain them.
Meanwhile, Gates said the loss of two paid sick days can be “a health and safety issue.”
“Do you want your cook or your server to be forced to come to work because they can’t afford to take a day off ?” he asked.