Ontario

Saturday November 9, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 9, 2019

Doug Ford government tries for a reboot with its latest fiscal plan

Premier Doug Ford’s government is listening and Finance Minister Rod Phillips really wants you to know that.

November 1, 2019

“We listened to Ontarians,” said Phillips in a news conference after delivering the government’s budget update on Wednesday afternoon.

“We listened to what they thought was working well in the plan that we had, and we listened to the concerns that they had,” Phillips added.

“So you can expect this is a government that has listened and is going to continue to listen, and make sure that we make adjustments as we go along.”

The fiscal tally of all that listening is found in the pages of Phillips’s fall economic statement. The document accounts for the government’s recent backtracks, updating the budget from the $163.4 billion spending plan tabled in April by Vic Fedeli, whom Ford dumped as finance minister two months later.

August 21, 2019

The fall economic statement is part of the Ford government’s attempts to portray itself as new and improved, striking a new tone, turning over a new leaf. The budget update tries to do this by highlighting the spending cuts on which the government reversed course and recasting them as spending increases.

Technically, it’s true the PCs are increasing program spending by $1.3 billion from the April budget. In reality, this is simply putting some spending cuts that didn’t happen back on the government’s books.

Does a reversal of a spending cut equal a spending increase? NDP leader Andrea Horwath doesn’t think so.  

May 23, 2019

The fiscal update reflects merely “a softening of their previous cuts, a backtracking on some of their cuts, a delaying of some of their cuts, but really the cuts are still coming,” Horwath said Wednesday on CBC’s Power and Politics.

The new finance minister hasn’t fundamentally changed the budget that the old finance minister put in place, and acknowledged as much in his news conference.

“This isn’t about grand gestures,” said Phillips. “It’s about incremental important changes that make life easier for people.”

The update shows — just as the April budget did — that nearly every ministry is undergoing spending cuts this year from 2018-19 levels. Nominal increases in spending on health and education are not increases in real-dollar terms when population growth and inflation are considered. (CBC)

 

 

Friday November 1, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 1, 2019

Can Doug Ford learn from his mistakes?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has ended the longest legislative break in a quarter century and his own political exile. He admits his government has made mistakes and vows to find a new “tone” going forward.

May 29, 2019

“Governing is always hard,” says Ford. “We all mature in the role that we’re in and you just try not to make the same mistakes.”

Far be it for this page to disagree with Ford on any of that. Or his stated desire to “learn by your mistakes.”

His government has been a disaster, and the way Ontario voters cast their ballots in last week’s federal election strongly suggests they also know it.

But putting the wrecking ball that has been the hallmark of the Ford government’s first 16 months down to exuberance is far too simplistic.

The early autism cuts and cronyism scandal, for example, were mistakes. But much of the chaos in everything from education to social services is not the result of haste or blundering. It flows from purposeful policy decisions to cut costs.

October 29, 2019

So as Ford seeks to reset his government the real question is what exactly he thinks are his “mistakes.” That his policies proved to be more unpopular with the people of Ontario than expected, or that they were the wrong direction in the first place?

If it’s the former, Ontarians can expect to see a slower pace of change with more effort put into finding support for the government’s cuts. If it’s the latter, and we hope it is, it might mean more than that.

Monday’s Question Period, though, didn’t bode well for the idea that the new and improved Ford government is about substance and not just style.

Ford welcomed back NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and thanked her for her questions. Then he launched into the same half-truths he’s always peddled.

On education, Ford said, the government is investing “more money than any government in the history of Ontario.” But per student funding — the primary means of funding schools — is down; some high school students are struggling to get the classes they need for university; and teachers’ unions, furious about job reductions, are set to take strike votes.

May 14, 2019

On Ford’s appalling taxpayer-funded court battle over the federal carbon pricing plan, he continued to claim people “just can’t afford it.” He ignored, as usual, the fact that most people will get back more than they pay because of the rebates that come with it.

It’s obvious that Ford needs to reset his government’s agenda.

At this point, no one, not even his own Progressive Conservative colleagues, can possibly know even what it is, given all the U-turns and waffles over the last few months.

Ford happily blew up Toronto city council mid-election, supposedly to create better and more efficient municipal government and vowed to extend such thinking to other regions. Then, on Friday, after months of consultation and study the government abandoned that idea; instead, it offered municipalities more money to find efficiencies and improve services.

May 4, 2019

The province has finally moved to enact legislation passed by the former Liberal government to ban the promotion of vaping products in convenience stores but hasn’t done the same thing on labour reforms needed to protect temporary workers. It has reduced its deep cuts to child care, but not for legal aid. On carbon pricing Ford changed his mind two months ago, only to change it back again last week.

How is anyone to know what this government stands for now?

At the top of the Ford government’s list of legislative priorities is “restoring trust and accountability in government.”

After promising efficiencies but delivering devastating cuts that will be a long road.

And if Ford really wants to avoid repeating his mistakes, this legislative session needs to be about more than softer words. (Toronto Star) 

 

Tuesday October 29, 2019

October 29, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 29, 2019

Ontario will champion a united Canada: Premier Doug Ford

November 20, 2018

Ontario needs to “step up” and help heal a country fractured after a federal election campaign, Premier Doug Ford says.

“I’ve never seen the country this divided,” Ford said in a one-on-one interview Thursday with the Toronto Sun. “I think it’s time that Ontario steps up and unites this country. We’re so much stronger when we’re united.”

Ford said he gets along well with several other premiers, including those in Alberta and Quebec, and strongly believes that the provinces should be competing against the world, not each other.

Ontario does well in a strong Canada, and Canada does well with a strong Ontario, he said.

“I understand their concerns out west; they’re putting $20 billion into the federal government’s pockets and they’re frustrated,” he said. “(Albertans are) upset; they’re really upset, actually.”

March 24, 2009

The same is true for folks he spoke to in Saskatchewan, he Ford.

One of the issues dividing some provinces and the federal government is carbon taxes.

The federal government’s lead voice in favour of carbon taxes, Liberal MP Catherine McKenna, found the windows of her constituency office spray-painted with a vulgar, sexist message Thursday.

Ford said he continues to oppose carbon taxes, believes that they put the province at an international economic disadvantage, but called for political points of views to be expressed peacefully.

“That’s totally unacceptable what they spray-painted,” he said. “I don’t care what political stripe you are.”

His own constituency office was occupied by protesters recently, terrifying his staff, he said.

February 1, 2018

Ford and his government head back to the legislature Monday for the first time since June.

Many have suggested that Ford was keeping out of the public eye for fear of hurting Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s chances of winning Monday’s federal election.

Ford said he told Scheer at the start of the campaign that he hoped the Conservative leader won but he was staying out of it, focusing on pressing provincial matters.

Asked if he minded that his name kept popping up in the campaign — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly told Canadians they could expect Ford-like cuts from Scheer — the premier said it didn’t bother him.

However, in a phone call with Trudeau the day after the election, he touched on the topic, Ford said.

“I told the prime minister that ‘enough of the politicking now, people expect us to work together and make sure that we build on infrastructure and other areas,’” Ford said. (Toronto Sun) https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/ontario-will-champion-a-united-canada-premier-doug-ford

 

Thursday October 23, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 23, 2019

Canada election: Did Doug Ford laying low work for Andrew Scheer?

Young Doug Ford Series

A day after the federal election with the dust still settling, Ontario Premier Doug Ford resurfaced with an announcement of more money to fight crime across the province.

Ford made the announcement of $6 million over three years away from reporters and cameras.

“When we invest in our men and women in uniform, we get results,” Ford said in a statement.

The media have had limited access to the premier since the election campaign began. Ford was available twice to the Queenʼs Park press gallery over the past several weeks, and both times were a great distance from Queenʼs Park.

October 4, 2019

One appearance was in North Bay during the International Plowing Match and the second was last week in Kenora, located nearly 20 hours driving distance from the legislature.

The question political pundits and pollsters have been chewing over is whether or not Fordʼs noticeable absence had an impact on the campaign.

“I canʼt imagine that having the premier allegedly lay low for a couple of weeks had much of an impact one way or another,” Sean Simpson with IPSOS Canada said on Tuesday.

However, Simpson said a poll done for Global News on election day of 10,000 people showed a slim majority of Ontario residents said Ford as premier “had at least some impact on their vote.”

September 26, 2019

“Some of those are conservatives more likely to vote as a result of Doug Ford. Of course others are supporters of the Liberals and the NDP maybe voting against,” he said.

While most GTA ridings did not change parties, Milton did. Long-time conservative MP and former Harper cabinet Minister Lisa Raitt was unseated by the Liberal candidate and Olympian Adam van Koeverden.

When asked Monday night if she believed Fordʼs negative approval ratings had an impact, Raitt said she didnʼt know.

A spokesperson for Ford said he called Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on Tuesday to offer congratulations on his re-election.

April 17, 2019

“They discussed shared goals for the province and agreed to work collaboratively to move important projects forward,” Ivana Yelich, Fordʼs press secretary, said.

Ford later issued a statement and said the provincial and federal governments need to work with municipalities to build “hospital infrastructure, create long-term care beds for our aging population, address gridlock and congestion on our roads and to build affordable housing for young people and families.”

“The Premier thanked the Prime Minister for his support of the Ontario Line and his recognition of this important project that will help end gridlock and get people moving across the Greater Toronto Area.” (Global News) 

 

Friday October 4, 2019

October 4, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 4, 2019

Here’s how often Trudeau has called out Harper, Ford instead of Scheer

It’s no secret to those following the federal election campaign that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau seems to be going after former prime minister Stephen Harper as much, if not more, than Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.

September 26, 2019

But just how much more?

Roughly 33 per cent.

Global News has been tracking how many times at official events and media availabilities each of the two front runners reference the other — or others entirely.

That does not include photo ops, whistlestops or unscheduled remarks.

Those records show Trudeau has referenced Harper (in English) at speeches and campaign stops a total of 62 times so far over the last 21 days.

Scheer, on the other hand, has mentioned Trudeau 326 times so far in the campaign.

May 30, 2017

That’s equal to roughly seven times the amount that Trudeau mentioned him.

Global News reached out to both parties asking about their attacks but didn’t receive clear answers to the question of why they were focusing on the attacks seen so far: a Conservative spokesperson accused Trudeau of being afraid to run on his record and whipping up fear, while a Liberal said the choice for voters is whether to return to the same kinds of policies seen under the Harper and Ford governments.

A source working with Ford’s government also echoed the federal party remarks when asked about the number of times Trudeau has brought up Ford, accusing Trudeau of “banking on the fact that he can make Ontarians afraid.”

October 28, 2016

“The reason that Scheer is pounding on Trudeau is because the entire Liberal brand is Trudeau. So if you’re going to rough up the Liberals, it starts with their leader and he also knows Trudeau is a controversial figure in Canada now,” said Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos.

“For the people who don’t like him, he is a hot button so every time he [Scheer] gets a chance to push it, he does.”

Bricker said the same isn’t true for Scheer, who polls suggest remains an undefined brand in the minds of voters.

April 17, 2019

“He’s not the Conservative brand the same way Trudeau is the Liberal brand,” Bricker said. “So what the Liberals are trying to do on the other side, because he is a bit of a blank slate, they’ve got their chalk out and they’re trying to colour him in.”

The way they’re trying to do that, Bricker said, is by making direct links in voters’ minds to two other highly controversial figures: Ford and Harper.

According to a poll by Angus Reid last week, half of Ontario voters say their opinions of Ford and his government will sway their vote on Oct. 21, with 85 per cent of those saying Ford’s government will make them less likely to support Scheer and the federal Conservatives. (Global)

Putting a lid on problems from r/canadapoliticshumour