Government trade mission to China a betrayal of workers and families say Steelworkers

TORONTO - United Steelworkers' (USW) Ontario Director Wayne Fraser said Wednesday that unless and until the jobs crisis in the province is properly addressed, no trade delegation, whether it's the provincial government or the mayor of Toronto, should set foot in China.

"China's human rights record is directly tied to its surging economic power since so many jobs that used to be done by Canadians have disappeared as companies take full advantage of sweatshop conditions in China," said Fraser. "It is a complete disgrace that the government of Ontario has planned this boondoggle for Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello in the midst of the worst loss of jobs in nearly a century."

"Companies like Tiger Brand Knitting in Cambridge, which closed after 100 years of production and ended hundreds of jobs, still claims a Canadian identity while all its production is now done in China."

Fraser added that more open trade with China over the last several years has resulted in a huge increase in toxic imports of goods that used to be safely made in North America.

"No China-owned factories have been opened here," he said. "No jobs have been created by trading with China. They have only been lost and our communities are suffering."

"If Dalton McGuinty believes it isn't his role 'to get involved in human rights' then surely it must be his role to come to the aid of the people of Ontario and bring back jobs to this province instead of helping to find more ways of eliminating them."