PBO debunks conservative attacks on public service employees

An independent study by the Parliamentary Budget Officer has exposed Tony Clement’s attacks against public service employees.

“Mr. Clement inflated the numbers by over 50%,” said NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) who requested the PBO study. “He faced Canadians and simply did not tell us the truth.”

The report indicates that there is no significant difference between paid sick leave in the public and private sectors. The PBO found that public service workers took an average of 11.52 paid sick days per year, significantly less than the figure of 18.26 quoted by Tony Clement.

“The Conservatives have been inflating the cost of paid sick leave to distract from their own mismanagement,” said NDP Treasury Board critic Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac). “Mr. Clement’s claims have been exposed as what they are – a smear campaign against our public service workers.”