Posted: Tuesday, 3 May 2011

May 2nd saw Canadians elect as the Official Opposition a party that puts working families first. It was an historic occasion that saw 102 New Democratic Party Members of Parliament elected to represent Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

The Canadian Labour Congress congratulates the NDP for a campaign that placed the issues important to workers - healthcare, retirement security and an expanded Canada Pension Plan, and job creation - at the forefront of the election campaign. These issues were debated during the election campaign because the CLC and its affiliates successfully brought them to the top of mind of voters in the lead up and during the election campaign.

The CLC congratulates all candidates who took part in the federal election. We are prepared to work with all parties to promote the economic security of Canadians.

When Parliament resumes, the government and all the parties need to roll up their sleeves and get to work - to create good, family-supporting jobs for the more than 1.4 million Canadians who are unemployed, and for many thousands of others whose work is part-time, temporary and poorly paid.

They will need to move fast to address the looming crisis in retirement income security. The best way to provide retirement security for Canadians is to improve the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans.

The CLC is concerned about comments made during the election campaign by the Prime Minister regarding unspecified plans to cut an additional $4 billion per year from federal government spending. We remind the newly-elected government that these programs promote and safeguard the public's health and safety. They bring us the quality of life that makes Canada a place where people the world over want to come to live, to become citizens and to contribute to its success.