Wasn’t Ontario Premier Doug Ford elected on a promise to do everything possible to fight Trump?
What happened to that promise? What happened to Ford’s very effective export tax on electricity? Ford’s government is starting to look more and more like a dictatorship.
Since first being elected in 2018, Ford has repeatedly shown he lets nothing stand in his way to benefit private corporations. Certainly not democratic principles or norms.
Ford has repeatedly shown his disdain for democracy in the same alarming pattern as the government of former premier Mike Harris. Mike Harris repeatedly subverted Democracy in his legislation giving himself and his ministers more power to make decisions with no democratic input. The prime example is taking our public power systems with his three bills in 1998 as well as by eliminating referendum voting rights anytime a public asset was to be sold in Bill 26. To this day his changes to public power are still costing us a fortune.
Democracy is a big issue. At every turn, Ford has eliminated public hearings and any kind of public input. Ford has implemented Ministerial Zoning Orders more than 114 times overriding local democracy. Ford’s giving of strong mayor powers is a prime example of subverting democracy, where mayors now have the power to override decisions by democratically elected councilors.
Ford replaced the Ontario Municipal Board with the Ontario Land Tribunal Where a lone Provincial appointee has the power to decide on appeals overriding locally elected officials again.
It has become Conservative’s normal operating procedure to bypass and eliminate democracy to the benefit of the private sector. They have done this a few ways. During an election they never tell the people and never get a mandate to do things like privatizing public assets and services. Conservatives love claiming they are “cutting red tape” making it sound good but eliminating laws and regulations that require public input and approval. Regulations that were put there to protect people and the environment but just get in the way of profit making. The prime example now is Ford’s Building Highways Faster Act getting rid of environmental assessments. The worst is whenever they pass new legislation, they give themselves and their ministers more power to rule by decree with no transparency and no public input whatsoever.
Ford continues his assault on our democracy now with Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act and now Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act repeatedly using misleading names on bills. Both of these bills give unprecedented and enormous unchecked power to Ford and his ministers.
Previously Ford brought in Bill 165 Keeping Energy Costs Down Act giving themselves more power to rule by decree and the removal of “procedural fairness” entirely.
Another example is Bill 218 Supporting Ontario’s Recovery Act which shielded private owners of long-term care facilities from being sued for negligence where so many died during the pandemic from neglect.
Now Ford has shielded himself from being sued for removing bike lanes where people will likely be injured or killed with Bill 212. Ford has also closed safe injection sites likely causing more deaths.
The most serious threat to the public’s health and safety Is Ford’s cancellation of the most effective low-cost way of detecting disease risk to the public, wastewater testing. Ford saved a few bucks, while spending tens of millions on advertising telling us what a great job he is doing.
When Ford announced his ridiculous multibillion 50km tunnels underneath Hwy 401, the Board of Trade quickly jumped to Ford’s defense, calling it “bold leadership” because its members would profit handsomely off the public purse.
Ford has clearly forgotten his promise to protect us from Trump and is only focused on Increasing his power and control. Only “getting it done” for his wealthy friends. Not a surprise Ford said he was “100 percent happy with Trump’s re-election”. He acts in the same ways.
Where is the opposition to the demolition of our democracy by Ontario’s self-appointed dictator Doug Ford?
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Nick Seebruch, editor
