NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is taking her campaign promise to protect Ontario jobs to the next level by promising to create a position focused on that specific task.
Horwath announced Wednesday that she would create the position of jobs commissioner should she win the Oct. 6 provincial election.
Horwath said her jobs commissioner would work independently of the government and would have the authority to push for alternatives to layoffs.
"When good jobs are at risk we don't have to sit on the sidelines, we can roll up our sleeves and do something different," Horwath said during a campaign stop at a Ford assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ont.
The Talbotville Ford Assembly Plant is set for closure, leaving some 1,200 employees searching for jobs.
"The jobs being lost by these women and men didn't just feed families; they built our province and our economy. We can do more to protect these jobs."
When asked by a reporter if a jobs commissioner would have saved the St. Thomas plant, the NDP leader admitted she did not know.
"The answer is we don't know because it doesn't exist," Horwath said.
"We believe that somebody with that responsibility will have an opportunity to perhaps prevent this situation from happening. It's not good enough to say there's nothing we can do, shrug our shoulders and walk away."
Horwath said the proposed commissioner would be able to bring together employers, unions, creditors and other bodies in order to try and avoid layoffs or organize training for workers.
"I think it's a missing piece to the puzzle to maintain our good jobs," Horwath said.
Horwath has been pushing a job-creating agenda through the first two weeks of the election campaign, promising to provide tax breaks for companies that hire workers to newly-created positions.
The promise brought comfort to Shane McPherson and his wife Allison who worked at the Talbotville Ford assembly plant for 10 years.
The couple, who have three children and are "devastated" by the closure, told The Canadian Press they are unsure if a jobs commissioner would have saved their jobs but are happy the NDP have pledged to tie tax breaks to job guarantees.
"I'm not too sure it would make a difference here because I think Ford had their mind set on closing the plant and there wasn't much that could be said government-wise to do anything."
Horwath has also challenged her competitors to a face-to-face debate on job creation -- an issue which has quickly become a centre piece of the campaign.
Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak confirmed on Wednesday that he would join the debate, whether or not Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty decided to take part.
Hudak said he was very concerned about job losses across northern Ontario specifically, where entire communities have been devastated by mill closures. He said McGuinty has turned his back on the region.
McGuinty is declining the invitation but the Liberals have pushed to include a northern segment in the televised leaders' debate on Sept. 27.
He added that Horwath's plan would just add to the bureaucracy at Queen's Park.
"I'm not sure how increasing the size of the public sector, the size of the bureaucracy is going to help create jobs in the private sector," McGuinty said while campaigning in Ottawa.
McGuinty was also defending himself from claims he was a "criminal coddler" on Wednesday, but wouldn't commit to rescinding prisoner perks condemned by his Conservative rivals.
Hudak has attacked McGuinty over the treatment of Ontario prisoners, who are offered perks like yoga classes and new poker cards. McGuinty says there are a number of programs that can be reviewed.
He also said Hudak's plan to take inmates out of prison and put them on work detail in Ontario communities would be expensive for taxpayers and put residents at risk.
With files from The Canadian Press
