TORONTO – Leader of the Official Opposition Andrea Horwath said Thursday’s throne speech shows Ontario being dragged backwards, thanks to backroom deals Ford has made with insiders and lobbyists.
“He’s dividing Ontarians, and sending a clear message that Ford will govern just for a few,” said Horwath. “For well-connected Ford insiders or lobbyists, apparently Ford’s happy to work out a deal to give them what they want.”
Conservatives convinced Ford to cancel cap and trade with no plan to replace it – even though it means hundreds of millions of dollars have been cut from things like school repairs. He made a deal with social conservative lobbyists to force students to learn an outdated sex ed curriculum that was designed before social media existed and before same-sex marriage was legal. He took the side of internet ticket scalping companies and refused to cap the price of re-sold tickets to music and sports events. He’s come to a secret agreement with the CEO and board of directors of Hydro One – potentially giving him millions of dollars to walk away from the company. And he’s even given a campaign supporter – Rueben Devlin – a million-dollar government deal.
Thursday’s throne speech hints at further attacks on working people, and further scrapping of police oversight, along with commitments to plow ahead with a decades-old sex ed curriculum and other regressive changes.
“While people are in need of relief from sky-high hydro bills and painfully long waits and hallway medicine in our hospitals, Doug Ford is instead making secret deals that won’t benefit everyday families and appointing party insiders to patronage positions,” said Horwath. “It’s disgusting. The NDP will continue to speak up, and represent everyone – not just a select few.”
New Democrats have a vision for an Ontario where more people can build their best life. Instead of trying to fix Liberal cuts to health care and education with even bigger Conservative cuts, Horwath has vowed to continue fighting to improve the services that everyday families count on.
