CAW head calls for national jobs summit

The head of the Canadian Auto Workers says the federal government needs to hold a summit on job creation.

Ken Lewenza said the latest employment numbers, showing 139,000 full-time jobs lost in Canada in July, are a grim sign on the road to economic recovery. Statistics Canada reported those job losses last Friday, along with a gain of 130,000 part-time jobs.

"We gotta be talking about how we create jobs and what kind of jobs you want to create," said Lewenza. "This is a huge crisis for Canadians in terms of jobs."

Windsor West MP Brian Masse backed Lewenza on the call for a jobs summit.

Masse represents the southern Ontario city with the highest unemployment rate in the country.

While the national average sits at eight per cent, Windsor's rate is 11.6 per cent.

"I worry about those that are actually receiving unemployment insurance that might be running out in the next couple of months," said Masse.

Lewenza said the federal government needs to extend employment insurance stimulus to include an extra five weeks of benefits for all claimants.

Lewenza said any jobs summit would include participation from all three levels of government, business and labour.

"This can't happen overnight, but if government doesn't introduce a strategy about how you create jobs in specific sectors of the economy, then we're going to find ourselves challenged for many years coming forward, and that's not in the best interests of the Canadian economy," said Lewenza.