Mar 04, 2007 12:40 PM 
Keith Leslie 
Canadian Press

A Conservative provincial government would develop a plan to move about 10 per cent of Ontario's civil service jobs out of Toronto and into rural and northern communities, says Opposition leader John Tory.

Having some good-paying government jobs can make a big difference for small towns that are struggling economically and give them breathing room as they look for new businesses or industries, said Tory, who'll seek the premier's job in the Oct. 10 general election.

"The key is really that you're trying to stop the (downward) spiral while you look for other private sector investments to come into these towns and villages," Tory said in an interview.

"It'll help the shopkeepers. It'll help the gas stations. It'll help keep some interest in the (local) housing market."

The government would have to do a very careful business analysis to determine which ministries and agencies could move some or all of their operations out of Toronto and into other regions, said Tory.

He said the Conservatives would also look to see if any new provincial agencies could be established outside the GTA.

"Over and over again we've seen under the McGuinty government things like the Ontario Power Authority, the Ministry of Democratic Renewal, the Independent Electricity System Operator – every one of those new agencies and offices has been created in Toronto," said Tory.

"Having the Greenbelt Foundation office in downtown Toronto, in some respects, makes very little sense when it's about the greenbelt. Why isn't it in the greenbelt, where there'd be a town that may have lost manufacturing jobs that may really benefit?"

Tory promised to work with public sector unions to convince them of the benefits of having some members move to smaller communities.

"Those civil servants who are moving would move as an option as opposed to being compelled to move," he said.

"I am very anxious to do this in a way that could be good for everybody: good for the public servants, good in terms of bringing government closer to the people, and good for towns that will benefit from having some government presence when they've been struggling with job losses."

Ontario's Public Sector Employees Union, which represents about 42,000 provincial workers, said it supports the idea in principle, as long as Tory is not talking about part-time jobs or contract work.

"If he's talking about full-time employment in communities outside Toronto, great. Certainly they need it (with) the manufacturing sector going down the toilet," said OPSEU President Leah Casselman.

"We're a little suspicious about government's making these moves, and for what reasons, and whether or not there'd be any long-term job security for our folks."

If Tory wants to boost employment in northern Ontario, all he would need to do is hire more workers for the Ministry of Natural Resources, which she said has been "devastated" by staff cuts in the region, Casselman added.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton called Tory's decentralization proposal "largely symbolic," and said it may help some Ontario towns that are struggling with the loss of local manufacturing jobs, but not most.

"This is not an answer to the forest crisis. This is not an answer to the manufacturing crisis, or the income crisis in rural and agricultural Ontario," Hampton said.