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Job creation must be a priority for government: Stanford continued from p. 10 ETFO Halton Designated Early Childhood Educators. Korzack accepted the award on behalf of the membership for their work to ensure all children are treated with respect in the school system. Mike Gibson of Unifor Local 707 and Ford Motor Company received the Health and Safety Activist Award. Gibson ensures safe work practices are met for the 1,500 workers he represents on his afternoon shift. Lesley Dakins of Oakville Transit and CUPE 1329 was the recipient of the Barney Banovac United Way Social Activist Award. She has been the United Way coordinator at work for more than 10 years, and the award recognizes her dedication. After laying out his view of a dire Canadian labour market, Stanford softened the blow by outlining a few potential solutions to getting more people back to work. He said Canada's population is growing by 1.5 per cent annually, and more than 50 per cent of the country's workforce has a post-secondary school education. "If you give us a chance to work and produce the value-added that we're capable of, we will pay our bills and then some," Stanford said. "We need government, including the Bank of Canada, to put top emphasis on job creation and trying to reduce unemployment, but we also need measures to improve the quality of jobs." Stanford said job quality could improve by ending budget austerity, hiking minimum wage, improving labour standards as well as more unionizing and collective bargaining. If the large majority of unemployed or underemployed Canadians were in the labour force, he estimates, the value-added to the economy would reach $70-billion annually. "The economy would be nothing without the work that we do, the value that we add, the production that we undertake, and the contribution that we make to our society," Stanford said. "As demonstrated tonight, by the activists whose contributions we've celebrated, we have a deep, shared commitment to building an excellent society that could be the best country in the world." 13 | Thursday, December 4, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com COMPLETE HEALTH DENTISTRY Jim Stanford 330 Dundas St. E. Oakville · 905-257-3182 info@klerdental.ca · www.klerdental.ca Open Evenings & Saturdays $ WIN a Visit dorvalcrossing.com to Enter. Gift Card to your favourite Dorval Crossing store 250 Here come the Holidays Over 60 Shops & Services located at the QEW & Dorval Drive It's that very merry time of year again! There are gifts to buy, feasts to prepare and lots of fun to be had! Visit dorvalcrossing.com for more information PROUDLY MANAGED BY