Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to attend the opening of the Hamilton Jobs Action Centre last Friday. This joint initiative between the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, the Social Planning & Research Council of Hamilton and Employment Ontario is especially important for Hamiltonians in these hard times.
The crushing rate of unemployment combined with the disaster of the Siemens plant closure means that the Hamilton Jobs Action Centre will be hard at work providing much needed support to laid-off workers in the greater Hamilton area. The centre will also retrain workers to help them re-enter the job market and begin rebuilding their shattered lives.
At the opening, I was joined by my federal colleague, the member for Hamilton Mountain; Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath; Hamilton City Councilmen Scott Duvall, Tom Jackson, Bernie Morelli and Sam Merulla; as well as MPPs Paul Miller and Ted McMeekin.
My friend, Don Jaffray, executive director of the SPRC and MC for the event, said that we will truly rejoice and celebrate when, like food banks, we permanently close the doors to this centre through lack of need.