Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

The NDP says Doug Ford’s first 100 days in office can only be measured by the people impacted by his choices.   “Ask the students, teachers and educators who were already in drafty schools with lead in the drinking fountains,” said NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh. “Doug Ford cancelled $100 million that was supposed to pay for school repairs, so ...

  Dear Mayor George Lefebvre,   My colleague, Eric Boutilier of All Aboard Northern Ontario, has asked me to provide you and your colleagues with an update on our upcoming NortheastLynx proposal for the revival of the former Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) rail passenger service linking Temiskaming, Cochrane, North Bay and Toronto.   We have made tremendous progress over ...

October 5, 2018 Letter to Wawa Candidates for Council and Voters, First, I would like to thank Mayor Rody for running for Mayor again.  I believe Mayor Rody has provided sound and positive leadership over the past four years.  I would also like to thank all the candidates for running for Council. It was great to see everybody at the ...

Recently, I attended a rally on the steps of Parliament organized by veterans suffering from the long-lasting effects of the anti-malarial drug Mefloquinne. It struck me that this is becoming the new normal as veterans are forced to take their struggles with Veterans Affairs to the government themselves. That this problem persists through successive governments shows that, despite many promises ...

During question period on Wednesday, NDP Childcare critic Doly Begum said Doug Ford is putting profits for corporate child care providers ahead of Northern and rural families that need affordable care today.   “Parents across Ontario need affordable, high quality, public, not-for-profit child care,” said Begum.  “Public dollars should go into care for our kids, not private profits for multinational ...

Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath said Wednesday she’s concerned that the Ford government’s recent review of the books is laying the groundwork for the privatization of public assets.   On the heels of Ford’s theatrical pronouncement that the deficit is deep and the province is in need of cash, this week’s release of a review of the books recommended a “divestiture” ...

Sep 26, 2018 @ 08:26 New Democrats say the Ford Tories’ theatrics over the state of the province’s books are designed to tee up massive cuts to health care, education, and more. On Tuesday, the government released a hasty review of the books, singling out spending in health care, education, social services, and post-secondary education.   “Doug Ford is setting ...

During question period Monday, Vic Fedeli, Doug Ford’s finance minister, confirmed that Ford will cut $100 million – the entire fund for natural gas expansion in northern and rural Ontario – and refused to answer questions from the NDP on the cancellation of more than $8.6 million in funding for a gas expansion project in Nipissing. The NDP’s infrastructure critic, ...

Doug Ford campaigned on a promise to put money back into the pockets of hard working Ontarians. To prove it, he recently announced cutting the carbon tax on natural gas which should reduce home heating bills by $80 per year. For the millions of Ontarians in urban areas, that’s a bonus because they’re on the natural gas grid. For hundreds ...

Finance Minister Vic Fedeli’s speech to the Economic Club set the stage for Doug Ford to make deep and painful cuts across Ontario, says NDP Finance critic Sandy Shaw.   “What Fedeli made clear on Friday is that nothing is safe in Ontario,” said Shaw. “Our hospitals, our children’s schools, our transit systems – everything our families need and count ...

Sep 21, 2018 @ 08:06 NDP Deputy Leader John Vanthof said that instead of standing up for families in Nipissing, MPP Vic Fedeli sided with Doug Ford and agreed to yank away $8.6 million in funding for a project to extend natural gas service to as many as 350 homes in the North Shore area of Trout Lake near North Bay. ...

Sep 17, 2018 @ 16:34 During question period Monday, the NDP’s labour critic, Jamie West, said that by cancelling the minimum wage increase, Doug Ford is taking more than $2,000 a year out of the pocket of minimum wage earners.   West said that with that kind of financial strain being inflicted on workers, it’s a shame that Doug Ford ...

Sep 17, 2018 @ 16:11   NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh says the legal community is deeply concerned about the precedent being set by Doug Ford’s hasty use of the notwithstanding clause and called on Attorney General Caroline Mulroney to consider that concern after more than 400 legal professionals wrote Mulroney urging her to vote against Ford’s bill.   “By ...

Sep 17, 2018 @ 16:09 Despite continued assertions to the contrary, including his bogus claim Monday that he “had the longest consultation ever when we crisscrossed the province,” Doug Ford and his Conservatives never campaigned on cutting city council in Toronto, or anywhere else in the province – and new records show that he didn’t consult anyone. Today, NDP MPP ...

Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath issued the following statement on Doug Ford’s use of the legislature this weekend to push through a bill that will violate the Charter rights of all Ontarians in order to interfere in Toronto’s election. “NDP MPPs would be very happy to sit all weekend to deal with the issues facing Ontarians, issues such as painfully ...