The Owen Sound District Chamber of Commerce has joined the call for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to address deficiencies in the arbitration system for emergency personnel.
Owen Sound is mentioned in an open letter to the premier from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.
The arbitration system has resulted in Owen Sound's emergency services taking a disproportionate amount of the operating budget, at 46%.
The letter suggests that in an era of fiscal restraint, with new municipal revenue options greatly restricted, the escalating costs from settlements for workers like firefighters and police is unsustainable.
The chamber says the cost of emergency services has increased by over three times the rate of inflation every year since 2002.
