NDP Leader Howard Hampton today strongly reiterated his call for Dalton McGuinty to take immediate action to protect jobs in Ontario’s ailing manufacturing and resource sectors.

“Two weeks ago, the Premier had a chance to put forward a real jobs plan. He blew it. His budget didn’t mention an industrial hydro rate, it didn’t mention a ‘Buy Ontario’ policy, and it didn’t mention a refundable manufacturing investment tax credit. These are all things the NDP has been calling for and which other provinces have embraced,” said Hampton.

Other provinces, such as Quebec and Manitoba, have implemented the measures Hampton is proposing, but Ontario refuses.

“We have now lost more than 200,000 well-paying jobs and thousands more Ontarians are facing an uncertain future. This Premier’s response? A lame joke about not having a magic wand,” added Hampton, referring to comments McGuinty made in Hamilton last Friday.

A Statistics Canada report released Friday shows that Ontario lost an additional 25,000 jobs in March and that the province’s unemployment rate increased from 6.1 per cent in February to 6.4 per cent last month.

“This Premier can do one of two things on this file – he can take a hands-off approach like Bush and Harper, or he can take an activist approach like the one we are proposing. On the basis of the budget, the Premier is clearly going with the Bush/Harper approach,” said Hampton.