Politics, Editorials & Letters

With Todd Smith’s announcement today, Ontario’s autism community has learned that once again, children will be stuck waiting for needs-based therapy. Despite a committment last year that a needs-based program would be ready and accessible by April 2020, the government continues to stall and delay. As children continue to languish on an ever-increasing waitlist, access to meaningful therapeutic support remains ...

Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition New Democrats, released the following statement in response to Premier Doug Ford’s news conference Wednesday, in which he defended his decision to send kids back to school with regular, large class sizes for all primary school students and many high school students. “Like many parents, teachers, educators and health experts, I was horrified ...

I have an uncle that I love dearly who has always been extremely supportive, especially since I joined the world of politics.  He stays abreast of what’s happening in Algoma-Manitoulin in the news and comments on this weekly column from time to time.  He’s a wonderful fellow with a great sense of humour but he does have some pet peeves.  ...

J’ai un oncle que j’aime beaucoup et qui m’a toujours soutenu, surtout depuis que j’ai rejoint le monde de la politique. Il se tient au courant de ce qui se passe à Algoma-Manitoulin dans les nouvelles et commente de temps en temps cette chronique hebdomadaire. C’est un type formidable avec un grand sens de l’humour, mais il a quelques bêtes ...

NDP Early Learning and Childcare critic Doly Begum responded to the Ford government announcement that child care centres are permitted to open at full capacity as of Sept. 1: “Doug Ford has quietly put out a notice that child care centres can fully re-open on Sept. 1, but child care centres don’t just need permission from the government; they desperately ...

Teresa Armstrong, Long-term Care critic for Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP released the following statement in response to the release of the province’s study on staffing in long-term care: “Today’s report confirms what health care workers, health experts, and families of seniors in long-term care have been saying for literally years. Our province’s long-term care homes are facing a profound staffing ...

The Ford government’s back-to-school scheme stacks kids in overcrowded classrooms, while forcing many high school students to do half their education alone at home with little to no help — putting students’ health and academic success at risk so that Ford can save money on the backs of students, again.   NDP Education critic Marit Stiles said the right solution ...

Gurratan Singh, the NDP critic for the Attorney General, said Premier Doug Ford is not only failing to take immediate action in long-term care, but by establishing a backroom premier’s commission that fails to do what a public inquiry must, he’s allowing long-standing problems to continue indefinitely.   “Over 1,840 people have died in long-term care during this pandemic. Those ...

Monique Taylor, NDP critic for Children and Youth Services, and Sol Mamakwa, NDP critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation released the following statement in response to the Ford government’s announcement on children services on Wednesday.   “We share the desire of Indigenous communities, families and child welfare providers for real transformation of the child welfare system that centres on the ...

NDP Municipal Affairs critic Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre) and NDP Transit critic Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale) are calling on the Ford government to commit to supporting municipalities over the long-term, after the government said Monday it would distribute “up to” $4 billion in one-time funding.   For two years before the pandemic, Doug Ford made deep cuts to municipalities, including cuts to ...

Au moment où j’écris la chronique de cette semaine, assis ici, dans mon bureau de Queen’s Park, c’est le jour après que les conservateurs ont déclaré les vacances d’été de l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario. Pour la deuxième fois seulement de ma carrière, je me suis retrouvé à la Chambre pendant les mois d’été. Cependant, je ne le regrette en aucun ...

As I write this week’s column, sitting here in my Queen’s Park office, it’s the day after the Conservatives declared the summer recess of the Ontario Legislature.  For only the second time in my career, I found myself in the House during the summer months.  However, I do not regret this in any way.  There is no doubt that the ...

Dear Brenda: I believe all Northern Ontarians owe a debt of gratitude to the publicly-funded Northern Policy Institute (NPI) for that report by a Manitoba academic undermining the case for passenger trains and praising intercity bus transportation as a northern travel alternative.  This landmark report clearly establishes some previously unrecognized points sure to warm the cockles of northern hearts, including: ...

The Ontario NDP has done some research, and say that despite Doug Ford’s claims, the Conservatives have been spending less and less on education infrastructure.   “It’s insulting for Doug Ford and his education minister to claim they’re doing anything to fix our crumbling classrooms and jam-packed schools when they’re actually cutting the budget, year after year,” said Marit Stiles, ...

With one charge now laid in the case of stolen customer data from the 407 ETR, the NDP says Premier Doug Ford still hasn’t answered lingering questions about how that data may have been used.   “We asked during the 2018 election whether the PC Party or any of their candidates used even a single name from that stolen customer ...