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The Ontario government’s controversial Bill 148, which will see the minimum wage rise to $15 per hour by 2019, may impact the ability of Ontario students to get to and from school.
The impact has the potential to be so severe that the Ministry of Education announced $60 million in new funding for school bus operators late on Friday afternoon to try and amend the issue before Jan. 1.
According to Frank Healey, a spokesman for the Independent School Bus Operators Association and owner of Healey Transportation Ltd., which serves Smiths Falls, the increased minimum wage and guaranteed minimum daily hours for part-time workers could push costs for school bus operators up by as much as 36 per cent. The effects of the increase are poised to have a drastic impact on many school bus companies in the new year.
“We have no room to absorb. We have no room to down staff and we have no room to change prices,” he said.
The contracts signed with school bus operators run on five-year terms due to changes implemented by the provincial government in 2012. At the time, the government said the policy would save as much as $34 million provincewide over three years. The contracts were supposed to provide more stability on bus routes over longer periods and cut associated costs by offering larger contracts to consortiums.
Healey said when the policy was implemented, there was no indication the minimum wage would rise so rapidly, so it was not factored into budgets and bids. He said many school bus companies across eastern Ontario are already running on extremely lean budgets and the implementation of Bill 148 in January could cause some to simply close up shop, an action that would affect thousands of students across the province.
“I’ve been operating at a loss for a couple seasons now because of an inability to negotiate price. I don’t know everybody’s balance sheet, but I know there are several in my local geography that are on the same razor’s edge right now,” he said. “We have been talking to the provincial government and they are in a tough spot, too, because they can’t mitigate minimum wage.”
Late Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Education sent out a memo pledging to spend an additional $60 million over the next two years to provide bonuses to school bus drivers who remain on the job until new contracts are negotiated with the school bus companies.
“To address the unique labour market challenges faced by the sector, we are investing $60 million over the next two years to support the recruitment and retention of drivers. This investment is on top of the $12.6-million increase in funding for student transportation for this school year to help boards manage increased transportation costs,” Heather Irwin, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, said in a statement.
The announcement was immediately slammed by critics of the governing Liberals both for its content and its timing. MPPs finished sitting on Thursday and aren’t expected to be back at Queen’s Park until Feb. 20.
“Who knows where they are finding $60 million?” said Michael Harris, transport critic for the Ontario PC Party and MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. “We’re only talking about one sector here. When others find out that the government is forking over $60 million for the bus industry, there’s going to be one heck of a lineup outside (Ontario Premier) Kathleen Wynne’s door.”
Harris said he has been hearing from lots of people about how Bill 148 will affect their business. Last month, the government was pushed to offer an exemption to the province’s municipalities, which would have been forced to absorb hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs associated with paying volunteer firefighters and other emergency responders.
He said the influx of issues that are resulting from the bill have been created due to a lack of planning. The bill was introduced by the Liberal government in June and received royal assent at the end of November.
“The premier has rushed these changes through because she wanted to boost her popularity ahead of an election,” said Harris. “This isn’t good policy, it’s good politics. Unfortunately, taxpayers will be on the hook.”
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The impact has the potential to be so severe that the Ministry of Education announced $60 million in new funding for school bus operators late on Friday afternoon to try and amend the issue before Jan. 1.
According to Frank Healey, a spokesman for the Independent School Bus Operators Association and owner of Healey Transportation Ltd., which serves Smiths Falls, the increased minimum wage and guaranteed minimum daily hours for part-time workers could push costs for school bus operators up by as much as 36 per cent. The effects of the increase are poised to have a drastic impact on many school bus companies in the new year.
“We have no room to absorb. We have no room to down staff and we have no room to change prices,” he said.
The contracts signed with school bus operators run on five-year terms due to changes implemented by the provincial government in 2012. At the time, the government said the policy would save as much as $34 million provincewide over three years. The contracts were supposed to provide more stability on bus routes over longer periods and cut associated costs by offering larger contracts to consortiums.
Healey said when the policy was implemented, there was no indication the minimum wage would rise so rapidly, so it was not factored into budgets and bids. He said many school bus companies across eastern Ontario are already running on extremely lean budgets and the implementation of Bill 148 in January could cause some to simply close up shop, an action that would affect thousands of students across the province.
“I’ve been operating at a loss for a couple seasons now because of an inability to negotiate price. I don’t know everybody’s balance sheet, but I know there are several in my local geography that are on the same razor’s edge right now,” he said. “We have been talking to the provincial government and they are in a tough spot, too, because they can’t mitigate minimum wage.”
Late Friday afternoon, the Ministry of Education sent out a memo pledging to spend an additional $60 million over the next two years to provide bonuses to school bus drivers who remain on the job until new contracts are negotiated with the school bus companies.
“To address the unique labour market challenges faced by the sector, we are investing $60 million over the next two years to support the recruitment and retention of drivers. This investment is on top of the $12.6-million increase in funding for student transportation for this school year to help boards manage increased transportation costs,” Heather Irwin, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, said in a statement.
The announcement was immediately slammed by critics of the governing Liberals both for its content and its timing. MPPs finished sitting on Thursday and aren’t expected to be back at Queen’s Park until Feb. 20.
“Who knows where they are finding $60 million?” said Michael Harris, transport critic for the Ontario PC Party and MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. “We’re only talking about one sector here. When others find out that the government is forking over $60 million for the bus industry, there’s going to be one heck of a lineup outside (Ontario Premier) Kathleen Wynne’s door.”
Harris said he has been hearing from lots of people about how Bill 148 will affect their business. Last month, the government was pushed to offer an exemption to the province’s municipalities, which would have been forced to absorb hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs associated with paying volunteer firefighters and other emergency responders.
He said the influx of issues that are resulting from the bill have been created due to a lack of planning. The bill was introduced by the Liberal government in June and received royal assent at the end of November.
“The premier has rushed these changes through because she wanted to boost her popularity ahead of an election,” said Harris. “This isn’t good policy, it’s good politics. Unfortunately, taxpayers will be on the hook.”
查看原文...
