NEW: Premier Doug Ford says his government will introduce new legislation that would “ELIMINATE the post secondary education requirement to become a police officer” as the province tries to create a “pipeline” of police officers.
NEW: #Dundas Valley #Conservation Area has been ordered by the Ford #Conservative govt to initiate a process to review all of their land holdings & determine all lands which could be sold to #developers and subdivisions built. 😲
It's one of #Ontario’s most spectacular natural treasures; 1,200-hectares of lush Carolinian forests, meadows, streams, stunning geological formations, + array of rare plants, birds & wildlife.
Doug Ford lied about a huge drop in Ontario Science Centre attendance as part of his justification for moving the attraction from east Toronto to a redeveloped Ontario Place. Reports from the #ScienceCentre itself show that attendance has actually rebounded since the pandemic lockdowns.
"The Ford #Conservative govt is basically shuttering rural healthcare in #Ontario. They’ll slowly squeeze the life out of what he hasn’t already dismantled. Interestingly these rural ridings have long held blue banners. This will be interesting. In the meantime we can hear the death rattle of healthcare."
Mayoral candidate and former cop Mark Saunders declined to participate in this evening's election debate in #Toronto.
The former police chief is Premier Doug Ford's pick for mayor and not surprisingly is taking a page out of the Ford campaign playbook.
"Talk to no-one, commit to nothing and rely on big donors to pave your way. This strategy is destroying Ontario and will destroy Toronto if he’s elected."
When John Snobelen, the Minister of Education during the Mike Harris years, was caught on tape saying he wanted to create a crisis in education to then break it, it cost the #Conservatives the government.
Years later, rather than create stability, the lesson the Doug Ford government has learned is - do not say your plans out loud.
Conservatives know that if voters actually knew their plan, they would never be elected.
NEW: 😵
Doug Ford has committed to a 95-YEAR LEASE!!
with #ThermeSpa, the private European company behind a controversial waterpark and spa that’s set to take over a major portion of the public waterfront at #OntarioPlace
"Paid for by the Government of Ontario"
Not only are taxpayer funds being used to build the $450 M underground parking garage for the private waterpark owner, #ThermeSpa - but their relentless, wall-to-wall promotion is on our tab as well.
NEW: The #Ontario Science Centre site is jointly leased by the City and Toronto & Region Conservation Authority to the province for $1 per year until 2064.
👉 Under the terms of the lease on the ravine land on which the Science Centre sits, Doug Ford and his regime can bulldoze the building but it must be replaced with another #OntarioScience Centre.
..unless Ford changes the rules..
"If true, this is a serious dereliction of public duty. Criminal."
David Miller, former #Toronto mayor
"Let’s not forget that Mayoral candidate Mark Saunders was paid a boatload of cash by the Ford government, presumably to make this disastrous, 95-year Ontario Place lease deal a reality."
Christopher Hume, former urban issues columnist and architecture critic of the Toronto Star
Ford's #Ontario government wants to expand a licensing regime that allows residents to unleash dogs in an enclosed area to teach them how to hunt & kill captive coyotes, foxes & rabbits, incl. contests where dogs chase terrified coyotes around an enclosed pen & are trained to kill.
Hunters say there is a growing demand for dog sport, while animal advocates call it a cruel practice for the captive prey.
The Ford #Conservative government says no obstacles will derail the province’s plans to redevelop #OntarioPlace and build the controversial Therme waterpark - including if #Toronto’s next mayor opposes the project.
It boils down to this: the Ford government is either incompetent or dishonest.
Doug Ford's #Conservative government is going to end up with way, way, way more money than it expected. And their $22.6 billion surplus says nothing good about the Ford government.
Doug Ford's destructive #Bill23 will negatively impact cities & towns, & villages across Ontario.
"In #Niagara, heritage plays a large role in the region’s history and tourism. This can be seen in areas such as Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is reliant on heritage for their economy, as well as St. Catharines, whose historical architecture takes up a significant part of Niagara’s wine and #tourism industry."
Hey Ontario...
👉 "The private healthcare sector is designed to deny care. Its first duty is to its shareholders, not its patients, and every dollar spent on care is a dollar not available for dividends."
"I have never seen a leader of a federal party get involved with municipal elections until now. Pierre #Poilievre is doing just that. So is Premier Doug Ford, and neither of them are saying nice things about Olivia Chow.
Your choice is easy, Toronto."
All rural communities in Ontario should be paying attention to what's happening in Minden because they could be next.
"If you think this hospital closure can’t come to a town or suburb or city near you, think again.
The bridge from for-profit surgical clinics to private groups of MDs offering ER services is closer than you think."
#Bill60 brings us closer to a US-style private healthcare system. It allows private investors & shareholders to make millions off healthcare while this govt purposely starves our public not-for-profit healthcare system to justify #privatization.
Ford's for-profit private clinics will operate with far less public accountability, scrutiny, oversight & fewer rules, conflict-of-interest, or public & financial accountability.
👉 OHIPCard vs CreditCard #onpoli#Ontario#dofo
"Doug Ford’s ass-backward push for homes and highways over all else is asinine."
"Simply put, Ford does not care whether the things he says or does describe reality. He just picks them out, or makes them up to suit his purpose."
"FordNation is a gangsterish combination of huckster doofus, crass ideology, & a narcissistic cult of personality that has nostalgia for a different Canada that was whiter, and more male"
Toronto mayoral hopeful Brad Bradford, who's known for his deep ties to former mayor John Tory, is insisting that #Toronto's housing crisis can be traced to the "failed policies" of the city's last progressive mayor David Miller... who was elected 20 years ago.. and not the policies of recent former mayors Rob Ford and John Tory.