Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was in NEWSTALK 1010's downtown studio on Thursday morning to share her thoughts on the effectiveness of all-day kindergarten, Toronto's battle with opioid drugs, and job creation.
The Premier defended her governement's plan to give minimum-wage workers in this province a raise of more than $3 over the next 2 years, taking Ontario's mandatory hourly rate to $15.
She also responded to a new report from the Fraser Institute that puts Ontario at the bottom of a list of 60 provinces and US states when it comes to creating new jobs.
It suggests Ontario has the highest rate of long term unemployment in Canada and that performance in the labour market performance has been abysmal.
The Premier argues the right-wing think-thank got it wrong, saying that her government's record on jobs is good.
Wynne says her predecessor, former Premier Dalton McGuinty, had to play catch-up when his Ontario Liberals were elected almost 15 years ago.
"We were dealing with billions of dollars worth of deficit and that was hurting our economic growth," she says.
Wynne adds unemployment in Ontario is typically under the national average.
The Premier refutes a suggestion that she's happy to let some small businesses get crushed under the financial weight of a higher minimum wage.
Wynne insists she is listening to the concerns of small businesses and that a relief package will be announced in the fall.