NDP Leader Howard Hampton said Dalton McGuinty can’t ignore the alarm bells that Ontario’s economy is on the cusp of a recession.

“In the face of a growing jobs crisis, workers losing their jobs daily and alarming economic forecasts, why does Dalton McGuinty simply shrug his shoulders and pretend there’s not much he can do?” asked Hampton.

Today, the Royal Bank of Canada released its provincial 2008 economic forecasts revealing Ontario’s economy is entering a period of considerable turmoil and the province teetering on the brink of recession.

“Dalton McGuinty is not taking the threat of a recession seriously enough and leaving hard working Ontarians out to dry,” said Hampton.

Hampton noted that provinces such as Manitoba and Quebec are in a better position to weather this economic slowdown than Ontario is. The RBC report praised Manitoba and Quebec for having a manufacturing investment tax credit and an industrial hydro rate - two proposals the NDP have been pushing the McGuinty government to adopt.

“Ontarians need an immediate strategy to sustain good manufacturing jobs in Ontario and these concrete measures can do just that. Instead, Ontarians have a Premier who is content to let Ontario continue it’s slide into recession while their wages decrease, their cost of living increase and their pensions disappear,” said Hampton.