Ford will fine gas station owners $10,000 a day for failing to carry propaganda stickers

The Ford Government isn’t just spending thousands of public dollars on gas pump stickers promoting a partisan campaign against carbon pricing – yesterday’s budget bill revealed that Ford plans to fine gas stations $10,000 a day if the businesses fail or refuse to post the stickers.

The stickers, which Ford will use public money to produce and distribute, denounce the federal carbon price being applied to provinces without a carbon pricing strategy. Doug Ford cancelled Ontario’s cap-and-trade program as a big favour to big polluters.

“This is a new low, even for Doug Ford,” said Peter Tabuns, the NDP’s Energy and Climate Change critic. “It’s bad enough that he’s wasting public money on partisan promotion, but now he’s threatening private business owners with massive fines for failing to post Conservative Party advertisement. So much for free speech.

“From sticking his slogan and party colours on license plates, to threatening gas stations that fail to carry Conservative party advertisements, Doug Ford is spending a lot of people’s money on himself and his party.”

Tabuns said both the sticker — which does not include items like the provincial gas tax, making it inaccurate and biased — and the fine need to be cancelled immediately.

This Media Release