Ontario labour groups protest Doug Ford cuts outside PC provincial convention

Labour activists are holding a demonstration outside the Ontario Progressive Conservative convention on Saturday to protest cuts made by Premier Doug Ford’s government.

The rally organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour is outside of the Niagara Falls, Ont., convention centre that is hosting the Tory gathering this weekend.

A number of unions representing teachers and health-care workers have joined the demonstration.

The annual gathering of the Progressive Conservatives began Friday and will feature a keynote speech from Ford on Saturday night.

Saturday’s protest comes a day after thousands of teachers marched around the Ontario legislature to protest stalled contract talks with the government.

The joint walkout by all four major teachers’ unions marked the first time since 1997 that educators from all the labour groups were on strike on the same day.

The protest outside the Progressive Conservative convention in Niagara Falls has drawn hundreds of people. (Tijana Martin/Canadian Press)