News

Federation of Labour sounding job loss alarm

The Alberta Federation of Labour says their people crunched the government’s spending cut numbers and found nothing but a job crisis ahead.

Gil McGowan, with the AFL, says their new report released today shows that when this year’s budget comes out, the people Alberta are going to be hit where they work: “What our analysis suggests is that if the Provincial Government goes ahead with cuts on the magnitude they’ve been discussing – of between $2 and $3 billion – those cuts will result in the loss of between 30,000 and 60,000 jobs.”

McGowan says that’s compared to the 40,000 to 45,000 jobs the province lost during the recession.

Bart Johnson with the Finance Minster’s office has a very different take on the AFL’s projections. “Budget 2010 will not result in massive job losses.” He adds, “The report as I’ve seen it seems intended to create fear and isn’t based on any reasonable dialogue or accurate information.”

Alberta’s 2010 budget will come down February 9.

i880 News, Mon Jan 25 2010