High-powered panel takes aim at stopping Ontario jobs slide

Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid hopes 13 is a lucky number for Ontario’s job market.

Duguid on Friday named 13 new members of the province’s “jobs and prosperity council” — led by RBC chief executive Gord Nixon — to advise the government on creating employment.

“It’s a pretty impressive group of people,” the minister told reporters at Queen’s Park.

His comments came the same day Statistics Canada revealed Ontario lost 18,700 jobs last month — data Duguid conceded is “disappointing” and underscores the need for action. He’s hopeful the panel of prominent private-sector business leaders helps.

“They’re very high-end, busy people with significant responsibilities,” he said.

Among the luminaries are: BMO Financial Group vice-president Kevin Lynch, former clerk of the privacy council and ex-head of the federal public service; Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain, and Research In Motion founder Mike Lazaridis.

Also on Nixon’s volunteer group, which will organize a fall summit on productivity, are:

Bonnie Brooks, president of Hudson’s Bay Company;

George Cope, president and CEO, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada; Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar Corp.; Nitin Kawale, president, Cisco Systems; Genevieve Knauff, owner of gck consulting; Darryl Lake, founder of Northern Centre for Advanced Technology;

Joe Repovs, founder and CEO of Samco Machinery;

Reza Satchu, founder of Alignvest Capital Management;

Jim Stanford, economist with the Canadian Auto Workers union;

Jeff Westeinde, CEO, Quantum Environmental Group.

Among the council’s tasks is to find $250 million in savings on business and skills training programs.

“The people on this council are the brightest and best minds in our business community,” said Duguid. “

We did not look at this as every sector in the economy needed to be represented and every demographic in Ontario needs to represented; otherwise, this wouldn’t be a council, it would be a congress.”