Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Record

On June 29, 2018 Doug Ford was sworn in as Premier of Ontario. He has enjoyed two back-to-back majority governments since then, as a result of the first-past-the-post system. The people of Ontario are facing a multitude of interconnected crises. The summary below provides insight into Doug Ford’s government record on addressing many of these crises. Given this record, it is absolutely essential that Doug Ford and the PC MPPs who support him are held to account. We encourage you to review our Plan for Ontario and to sign the Ontario Public Letter urging cooperation between the NDP, Liberal and Green Parties for the next provincial election.

To review Doug Ford’s government record, scroll down the page, or go directly to an issue by clicking on one of the heading links below (listed alphabetically).

Without providing any explanation, in 2023 the Ford government delayed the release of an important report by several months : The Ontario Climate Change Impact Assessment report provides evidence of the significant risks Ontario will face. The report states (p. xiii): “Avoiding or reducing the worst impacts of human-induced climate change requires action on parallel fronts: rapid and deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and proactive and planned measures to adapt to current and imminent future changes. While there are adaptation efforts underway to address these impacts, the rapid pace of climate change requires large scale, accelerated action in all facets of our society and economy.

In 2022 the Ford government released their transportation plan for southern Ontario “Connecting the GGH: A Transportation Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe“. The Society of Professional Engineers of Ontario were critical of this plan stating: “the Province is setting forward a plan that focuses on building new highways, like Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. Such infrastructure projects, would lead to increased GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions. … Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass go against the goal of reducing GHG emissions in Ontario.”

Op ed: Doug Ford is undermining our democracy and our climate: https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/doug-ford-is-undermining-our-democracy-and-our-climate/article_5ee48c9b-15e8-5ca9-9fde-5ae93ff03e6a.html

As noted in the Climate Crisis section above, Doug Ford government’s transportation plan focuses on building highways (such as Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass) rather than investing in public transportation, which will increase fossil fuel consumption for the forseeable future.

Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024 was rammed through the legislature in late 2024 – the Bill received First Reading October 21, 2024 and received Royal Assent November 25, 2024. Public consultation and hearings on the bill were reduced to point where it was almost meaningless. Indigenous consultation was extremely limited. Much of the media and government attention focussed on the fact that Bill 212 will result in ripping out existing bike lanes on major roads in the city of Toronto and make it much more difficult for municipalities to approve new bike lanes. Clearly this reduces the safety and ease with which people can use climate friendly active transport in urban settings. What received less attention is this: Bill 212 contains drastic changes, such as exempting the Highway 413 ‘scheme’ from the provincial government’s Environmental Assessment Act that enables the construction of major highway projects. Bill 212 also included measures to speed up other major highway projects such as the Bradford Bypass and twinning the Garden City Skyway (where the QEW crosses the Welland Canal in St. Catharines). The Billions of taxpayer dollars that will go towards the construction of these projects (and absence of measure to increase funding to public transportation) locks in fossil fuel consumption in Ontario. Bill 212 and they way it was managed reveals a lot about Doug Ford’s current priorities.

The Ford government’s Bill 165 – inappropriately named the Keeping Energy Costs Down Act, 2023burdens new home buyers with the higher cost of gas heating as the default for new home construction, when the government should instead be providing incentives for home builders to install highly efficient electric heat pumps in new homes. This legislation reveals the Ford government’s priority is to ensure Enbridge continues to profit from fossil fuel sales – most definitely not “keeping energy costs down” for Ontario homeowners. This places the financial burden on existing Enbridge clients of the $250 million cost of installing pipelines for new home construction. The December 2023 decision by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), the independent regulator of Ontario’s electricity and fossil gas sectors denied Enbridge’s application for a rate increase to existing customers to cover the costs of new gas pipelines to service new home construction, recognizing that an energy transition away from fossil fuels must occur. The decision also included measures to help facilitate that transition.

Almost immediately after taking office in 2018, Premier Doug Ford announced the cancellation of many renewable energy projects and spent $230 million to cancel the contracts. As of 2021 the Ford government had scrapped existing buyer incentive program for purchase of EVs, removed the $2.5 million homeowner incentive program for installing their own charging equipment, deleted EV charging station requirements in Ontario’s building code and ripped out two dozen public EV charging stations that had already been installed. (source: https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-electric-vehicle-policy/ In 2023 and 2024 Doug Ford has shifted gears and has joined with federal government to promote plans to build massive EV battery plants in Ontario (sources: https://www.vw.ca/en/electric-vehicles/ev-hub/ev-news/st-thomas-gigafactory.html and https://electricautonomy.ca/ev-supply-chain/2024-04-25/honda-ev-battery-ontario-factory/ ). Ford appears to be using these battery plant projects to push for mining in the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario. Ford’s Minister of Mines has received harsh criticism statements he made recently about mining in this vast region of Ontario that is the traditional territory for many First Nations.

In August 2024 Doug Ford ruled out changes to the provincial electoral riding boundaries and declared that the existing 124 ridings are more than adequate. The federal government is moving ahead with electoral riding changes that are based on census changes – a process overseen by commissions removed from political parties and partisan considerations. David Moscrop criticized Ford’s refusal to update electoral riding boundaries saying it “effectively disenfranchises some voters” and “[i]f there was any doubt about Doug Ford’s contempt for democracy in Ontario, his latest decision to leave the province’s electoral-district boundary map as-is should put the matter to rest.” John Michael McGrath’s analysis of the changes points out the changes are necessary because the population of Ontario is growing rapidly, but not everywhere at the same rate.

Shortly after Ford was first elected in 2018, his government initiated a series of changes which many observe have undermined democracy in Ontario. The ironically named Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act made sweeping changes to a number of Acts, in particular the Election Finances Act. Changes included

  • significant increase to the maximum contribution limit for an individual, the repeal of the sections that governed the maximum amount an individual can contribute at a fundraising event
  • repeal of the requirement that donors must certify the funds they donate belong to them, and did not come from a third party
  • restrictions were lifted on attendance at fundraising events that allowed MPPs and party leaders to attend, enabling the the large PC fundraising dinners, events and tournaments that feature the Premier, MPPs, cabinet members (frequently in ridings they don’t represent) that require donations in the neighbourhood of $1000- or $1500 per-person to attend.

In passing the Better Local Governance Act, the Ford government roughly halved Toronto City Council (from 47 to 25) partway through the 2018 municipal election period. Many objected to the change, and it was appealed. Ford threatened to use the Notwithstanding Clause force the cut, however a decision by the Supreme Court upheld it.

In 2021 Ford made use of the Notwithstanding Clause to impose significant changes to political donation limits and expand restrictions on third parties with the Protecting Elections And Defending Democracy Act. It has been noted that these changes put the PC party at a significant advantage for the 2022 provincial election. Many criticized the changes, characterizing them as an attack on basic democratic rights. See for example this CBC article and analysis of the changes by Unifor, OFL, OSSTF. Despite the use of the Notwithstanding Clause being a historic precedent, it received very little media attention. In a stealthy move, the Ford government rushed debate of the bill over a weekend during the legislature’s summer break, then passed it on a Monday, after which the legislature break resumed.

In another surprising and undemocratic move, the PCs did not release a platform for the 2022 election. Many candidates were no-shows at all-candidates meetings and debates. The slogan for the campaign provided no insight for voters: “Get It Done”.

These actions by the Ford government can be summed up with two words: Voter Suppression. It was a successful tactic for them: Voter turnout was extremely low for the 2022 election. The PCs grew their caucus despite receiving 433,561 fewer votes than in 2018.

On Dec. 3 2024, Ontario Auditor General Shelley Spence released her 2024 Annual Report. She tabled the Public Accounts of the Province and audit reports on education, immigration, public health, land-use planning, infrastructure projects, the environment and digital services. John Michael McGrath (TVO) provided key takeaways from the report stating it “includes damning findings involving the government’s decision to redevelop Ontario Place, calls into question the decision to shut down the Ontario Science Centre, uncovers numerous problems with the way the province conducts land-use planning, raises issues with the decision to close supervised-consumption sites, and suggests that the Toronto District School Board (with its over 240,000 students) is a bit of a financial basket case“.

An interprovincial budget comparison (released in 2024, analysis of 2022-23 budgets) by the Ontario Financial Accountability Office revealed Ontario was one of only five provinces to record a deficit in 2022. Ontario had the:

  • lowest total revenue per capita in Canada
  • lowest total spending per capita in Canada
  • lowest healthcare spending per capita in Canada
  • highest debt burden per capita in Canada

Since 2018 when Doug Ford became Premier, Ontario has gradually reduced funding to publicly funded schools. The Minister of Education and the Premier speak about historic investments in Ontario’s public education system, but the number of students in the system is growing and the increases they have made to the funding are less than the inflation rate.

In 2018, Doug Ford cancelled the $100M school repair fund. The current cost estimate to address the repair backlog for Ontario’s publicly funded schools is greater than $16.8 Billion. In May 2024 video was shared of a secondary school in Toronto with an entire section of stairs closed and the basement flooded as a result of heavy rain. A more detailed description of the repair needs in Ontario’s schools is provided in the 2024 pre-budget submission by Fix Our Schools Ontario. Schools, as places where people are gathered indoors for extended periods of time are a major contributor to the spread of COVID, respiratory illnesses and other contagious diseases. Improving air quality and regulating temperatures in schools has many benefits, however the Ford government refuses to provide adequate funding to make the necessary improvements to HVAC systems in Ontario schools. Despite providing less than adequate funding to address the existing repair backlog, Premier Doug Ford and the Minister of Education insist that improving HVAC systems and air quality is up to individual school boards to address.

Several Ontario school boards are reporting projections of budget deficits fpr the 2024/25 school year.

In November 2019 the Ford government’s Bill 124 or the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019, came into effect. This legislation limited total compensation increases for broader public sector employees to 1% for each 12-month period for a 3 year “moderation period”. Increases of 1% were significantly below the inflation rate. More than 700,000 workers were impacted including education workers, as well as workers in hospitals, universities and colleges, crown agencies, long-term care homes and non-profit organizations. In February 2024 a majority at the Ontario Court of Appeal “confirmed Bill 124 is unconstitutional as it violates unionized workers’ collective bargaining rights, contrary to section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) and cannot be saved under section 1. However, Bill 124 remains constitutional in its application to non-unionized employees.”

The Ford government abruptly cancelled plans to implement new Indigenous curriculum scheduled to begin in September 2018. Under Doug Ford the integration of Indigenous curriculum has been a slow process ; the broad mandate for implementation was delayed until 2023. The 2015 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission include education as one of the areas of focus.

In 2019 the Ford government closed the independent office of the Ontario Child Advocate, a position held by Irwin Elman who is widely respected. The decision that was harshly criticized by many, including the Yellowhead Institute as they noted “this move sever[ed] the investigations and advocacy function previously housed in the Advocate’s office, cutting this level of oversight…This loss means dramatically less support for youth in secure custody, youth living with disabilities, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit young people, youth in provincial schools, and youth receiving mental health services.

In September 2024 Global News reported the shocking revelation that a child dies every 3 days under Ontario’s care network. Advocates say the data lays bare the sheer number of children being failed by the government’s care systems, and call for Ontario to take drastic action to address the situation. Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa called this a “profound tragedy” but refused to provide a timeline for taking any corrective action.

The Ford government has failed in its promise to eliminate the waitlist for the Ontario Autism Program (OAP). The OAP is not meeting the needs of families or providing adequate support. The waitlist for the OAP has ballooned since 2018, to over 60,000 children as of March 2024.

Funding for special needs students in Ontario continues to be inadequate. This dire situation received some attention recently when a student with special needs died while left unattended at a school in Ontario.

Under Doug Ford, the provincial legislation that protects Ontario’s environment has been gutted. In 2019 Doug Ford abolished the office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, and shifted the responsibilities of this office to the Auditor General of Ontario, a move that Ecojustice suggested “signals this government has little intention of complying with Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights”.  The Narwhal has provided an overview of the many ways protections have been cut. The Narwhal’s Emma McIntosh and The Toronto Star’s Noor Javed won a prestigious journalism award for their relentless investigation into the Greenbelt Scandal . Their investigations into decisions made by the Ford government to remove Greenbelt protection from certain parcels of land has led to a number of other investigations, including the RCMP, Ontario’s Auditor General , Integrity Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner. The findings of the investigations so far have made it abundantly clear that Doug Ford’s government prioritizes the wishes of wealthy landowners and developers over the protection of farmland, wetlands, forests and habitat for endangered species.

In 2019 the Ford government cut the funding in half to Conservation Authorities for their core flood management programming. This programming for the 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario provides key services such as flood forecasts and warnings, and stream flow monitoring. As Emma McIntosh pointed out in The Narwhal: Paving over wetlands for housing ignores history of floods.

Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) submits comments to the government and posts notices and action alerts to raise public awareness and oppose many of the harmful changes to environmental protection legislation imposed under the Ford government. For example they raised significant concerns about Bill 23 in part due to the additional cuts to the Conservation Authorities, and weakening of wetland protection. Environmental Defence is another organization that has been highlighting and opposing Ford’s harmful changes to environmental protection. For example Ford’s plan to build Highway 413 that will result in the loss of over 400 acres of land that is supposed to be protect forever by the Greenbelt.

Environmental Defence report: Death by a thousand cuts: Ontario’s dismantling of the Endangered Species Act: https://environmentaldefence.ca/2024/01/26/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-ontarios-dismantling-of-the-endangered-species-act/

As of 2022 the loss of Ontario farmland was estimated at 319 acres per day (Source: Ontario Federation of Agriculture OFA –https://ofa.on.ca/newsroom/ontario-farmland-under-intense-pressure/#:~:text=GUELPH%2C%20ON%20%5BJune%2010%2C,the%202016%20Census%20of%20Agriculture.). The Ford government has proposed numerous changes to the Planning Act and the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and the elimination of the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan. These changes are contained in Bill 23, Bill 109, Bill 162 and Bill 185. All of these Bills state their priority is to build more homes but Ford’s efforts are unsuccessful – refer to the section of this post about the Housing Crisis. Instead irreplaceable farmland is being rezoned and paved over for development, despite overwhelming evidence there is no need for more land to meet Ontario’s housing needs out to 2051. (Sources: Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force Report and Bill 23 Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) Submission by Kevin Eby, Kevin Thomason and Mark Ruesser.

Doug Ford’s plan for Highway 413 will pave over 1000 hectares acres of land in the Greenbelt in Vaughan: https://ospe.on.ca/advocacy/the-government-of-ontario-releases-transportation-plan-that-focuses-on-building-highways-rather-than-investing-in-public-transportation-alternatives/

The Ford government, along with the Waterloo Regional government of Waterloo and the Township of Wilmot have been withholding information as farmers in Wilmot struggle to understand the plan to expropriate their prime farmland for a massive industrial complex. In August 2024, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agri-Business Rob Flack admitted to reporters the provincial government is providing the funding for this mega-industrial site. This is in direct contravention to Minister of Red Tape Reduction, local MPP Mike Harris Jr. who has repeatedly claimed that the province has no involvement and insisted it is a Regional initiative. Watch this video to compare the comments of the two members of Doug Ford’s cabinet. The plan impacts over 700 acres prime farmland that has been farmed by families – in some cases for many generations – in an aquifer recharge area where at least 80% of the people rely on the aquifer for their drinking water. Doug Ford has indicated he supports the plan and made a false claim there is a lack of land available for industrial development. This plan is drastic:

An interprovincial budget comparison (completed in 2024 for 2022-23 budgets) by the Ontario Financial Accountability Office revealed Ontario had the lowest healthcare spending per capita in Canada.

By November 2019 the Ford government had already made a very long list of cuts to Ontario’s Healthcare system. Also in November 2019 Bill 124 or the “Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, 2019,” came into effect. This legislation limited total compensation increases for broader public sector employees to 1% for each 12-month period for a 3 year “moderation period”. Increases of 1% were significantly below the inflation rate. More than 700,000 workers were impacted including workers in hospitals, publicly funded schools, universities and colleges, crown agencies, long-term care (LTC) homes and non-profit organizations. In February 2024 a majority at the Ontario Court of Appeal “confirmed Bill 124 is unconstitutional as it violates unionized workers’ collective bargaining rights, contrary to section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) and cannot be saved under section 1. However, Bill 124 remains constitutional in its application to non-unionized employees.”

Without ever including the privatization of Ontario’s publicly funded healthcare system in an election platform, Doug Ford’s government has been working stealthily and steadily to undermine pubicly funded facilities and shift the Ontario Healthcare System towards a model that includes for-profit healthcare service providers. The announcement came in a statement from former Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott in 2022: “We are opening up pediatric surgeries, cancer screenings…Making sure that we can let independent health facilities operate private hospitals.” [Fun fact: 98% of Independent Health Facilities are for-profit https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en14/406en14.pdf] The Ford government consistently fails to provide details about the financial costs involved with the changes that have been made, such as surgical procedures shifted to for-profit facilities, and using expensive for-profit nursing agencies to help meet staffing needs in hospitals and LTC facilities. A recent report provides some insight into the backroom deals that have been made.

With the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, hospitals have faced significant cost increases. Many of Ontario’s hospitals are now faced with increasing budget deficits as as result of the actions of the Ford government. For FY23, 102 healthcare systems in Ontario reported a deficit. On average, Ontario healthcare systems that posted a deficit in FY23 saw a 992% increase ($5,900,000 compared to $545,000) compared to those who reported a deficit in FY22. (Source: Minden Paper https://mindenpaper.com/pre-budget/ )

In addition, Ontario’s local hospital and ER closures are taking place more frequently. This report from 2023 provides some details: https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/final-report-hospital-closures-report.pdf and this article indicates more closures are anticipated as 2024 continues: Expect more summer ER closures in rural Ontario, experts say: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/er-closures-ontario-summer-1.7217911

The Ford government priorities are revealed as they are making alcohol easier to access and raising speed limits on highways – concerning choices while ERs are becoming more difficult to access.

A shortage of Long Term Care (LTC) spaces exists in Ontario, and there have been long-standing issues with the quality of care patients receive. Inadequate inspections of LTC facilities had been a concern prior to 2018. In 2019 the Ford government announced the formation of a separate Ministry of LTC from the Ministry of Health, and also cut funding for Healthcare by $2.7B compared to 2018. The result was less funding for LTC.

The impact of COVID-19 for patients in Ontario LTC facilities was horrific – an investigation revealed inspections ceased for weeks when COVID-19 first began to spread in 2020. In media statements at the end of March 2020, Doug Ford said his government would “put an iron ring of protection around our seniors from COVID-19”, and the Minister for LTC at the time said “we are working around the clock to assist and care for Ontario’s seniors, especially those in long-term care, during this unprecedented time.” But the conditions in many LTC homes became dire, and by the end of May 2020 there were more than 1500 deaths in Ontario LTC homes associated with COVID-19. An alarming report was issued after Ford called in the Armed Forces to provide assistance in several LTC facilities that were in crisis. The report revealed that patients were forced to live in abhorrent conditions. Then the Ford government made two disturbing moves: In October 2020 they introduced legislation that was described as an “iron ring” around the LTC corporations, limiting their liability, and in November 2020 Doug Ford’s government announced spending for LTC would be $93M less than they had pledged to spend in March 2020.

It did not help staffing shortages that LTC workers were impacted by the wage increase limits imposed by Bill 124 mentioned in the Healthcare section above. There were also issues with the programs the Ford government introduced to help recruit additional LTC workers.

Tragically, over 4000 patients died due to COVID-19 in LTC homes between March 2020 and April 2022; a disproportionate number of these deaths were in for-profit LTC facilities.

While the Ford government has been working to expand LTC capacity, they have awarded many of these contracts to the worst performing for-profit LTC providers through COVID-19. There are currently a number of class action lawsuits before the courts that allege gross negligence by some of these same LTC providers in their management of COVID-19 that resulted in avoidable deaths.

Is managing LTC properly a priority for Doug Ford? The waitlist for accessing LTC in Ontario in 2024 is 43,000. This is expected to rise to 48,000 by 2029.

Report shows Ontario is not on track to meet its target of 1.5 million homes constructed by 2031. (refers to OREA report: Analysis of Ontario’s Efforts to Boost Housing Supply)

The legislative amendments and associated policy and regulatory changes in The More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 (more commonly known as Bill 23) “are an extensive and alarming package; one of the most extensive such sets of changes that CELA has seen in decades.” The implementation of Bill 23 not resulted in more homes being built. In fact, subsequent legislation has been introduced to reverse some of the changes.

Doug Ford’s ‘Get It Done’ Act worsens housing crisis with sneaky new push for sprawl. “The last thing Ontarians need in a housing crisis is a new law that supports building the wrong type of housing in the wrong places at the wrong prices.”

Ford’s housing legislation ignores recommendations of the Housing Affordability Task Force , which the Ford government appointed. See also: Housing Affordability Task Force Report. In April 2024, without explanation, Ford cut the plan to allow fourplexes – a key recommendation of the Task Force that could help address housing affordability.

Housing Affordability Crisis Explained: https://schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/School-of-Cities_Housing-Crisis-Final3.pdf

Ford got rid of rent control, rents have skyrocketed

In a decision July 26, 2024, the Supreme Court said the Ontario and Canadian governments had a mandatory obligation under the Robinson Treaties to raise the annual payment amount paid when economic circumstances warranted. The two treaties were signed in 1850, ceding a large swath of land in Ontario to the Crown in return for annual payments to the Anishinaabe of lakes Huron and Superior. The ruling stated the Crown dishonourably breached the Robinson Treaties and must negotiate a settlement with one of the groups, the Robinson Superior plaintiffs, and if a deal cannot be reached the Crown must set a remedy on its own. The second group, the Robinson Huron plaintiffs, had already reached a negotiated settlement of $10 billion.

Doug Ford’s government has repeatedly ignored the constitutionally required duty to consult with impacted First Nations, Inuit and Metis.

Ford’s Minister of Mines has received harsh criticism statements he made recently about mining in this vast region of Ontario that is the traditional territory for many First Nations.

Grassy Narrows recently announced a suit against Ontario, seeking to nullify all mining claims on its territory, that may have implications across the province. The primary issue is Ontario’s “free entry” mining claims system that allows a prospector to register a mining claim on Grassy Narrows territory without a site visit, without notice, without consulting, without obtaining consent.

As the Greenbelt Scandal unfolded, in August 2023 Chiefs of Ontario voted unanimously to oppose the changes to the Greenbelt because they had not been adequately consulted. This failure to consult was also noted in the Auditor General’s Special Report on the Greenbelt.

The Ford government abruptly cancelled plans to implement new Indigenous curriculum scheduled to begin in September 2018. Under Doug Ford the integration of Indigenous curriculum has been a slow process ; the broad mandate for implementation was delayed until 2023. The 2015 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission include education as one of the areas of focus.

Doug Ford went to the Supreme Court to keep ministerial mandate letters secret https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/supreme-court-ford-mandate-letters-secret-1.7101970

Ford government commits to 95-year lease for private spa at Ontario Place – won’t provide details, but the Auditor general reveals the contract requires construction of a 600 space underground parking lot

Ford’s legislation fast-tracking Ontario Place mega-spa overrides land-use protections https://spacing.ca/toronto/2024/03/01/fords-legislation-fast-tracking-ontario-place-mega-spa-overrides-land-use-protections/

On Friday June 21, 2024 in the afternoon, Doug Ford suddenly announced the closure of the Ontario Science Centre but the reports cited as evidence do not recommend or call for closure of the entire facility. The grounds have been fenced off. (See also: https://www.canadianarchitect.com/ontario-science-centre-doesnt-require-full-closure-a-close-reading-of-the-engineers-report/ ). It has been revealed that it will cost more than the roof repairs and take two years to open a temporary facility. Last year Raymond Moriyama the architect who designed the OSC wrote an open letter asking for the repairs to be made, his architecture firm has also written an open letter to oppose the closure and offer their services pro bono and highlight the fact that other member of the public have also offered to contribute more than enough funds to cover the cost of the necessary repair work. More than 75,000 people have signed the petition asking for the OSC to be saved and remain at its current site. So far, Ford and Kinga Surma Minister of Infrastructure, who is responsible for the plans for both the OSC and Ontario Place, have remained firm on their decision to close the OSC. The plan that involves creating a smaller version of the OSC is part of the mysterious Ontario Place/Therme MegaSpa on the Lake Ontario shore with “details to be released at a later date“.

Doug Ford still using his personal phone as transparency battle over call log continues https://globalnews.ca/news/10607600/doug-ford-personal-phone-use-continues/

“Selection of sites not transparent, objective or fully informed” Auditor General Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/news/specials_newsreleases/ataglance_Greenbelt_EN.pdf

Integrity Commissioner August 2023 report finding regarding (former) Minister of Muncipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) Steve Clark: “One of Minister Clark’s submissions as to why I should not attribute staff misconduct to the minister is that there is a separate scheme in the PSOA [Public Service of Ontario Act] to address that staffer’s misconduct so there is no need to make ministers automatically answerable for their staffs’ conduct. I reject this position since it undermines the integrity of our system of accountability for members of provincial parliament.” and re: Members’ Integrity Act: “Minister Clark has contravened both sections 2 and 3(2) of the Act.” https://www.oico.on.ca/web/default/files/public/Commissioners%20Reports/Report%20Re%20Minister%20Clark%20-%20August%2030%2C%202023.pdf

The provincial government (along with the government of Waterloo Region and the Township of Wilmot) has been withholding information as farmers in Wilmot struggle to understand the plan to expropriate their land for an industrial complex. This plan impacts over 700 acres prime farmland that has been farmed by families – in some cases for many generations – in an aquifer recharge area where at least 80% of the people rely on the aquifer for their drinking water. Doug Ford has indicated he supports the plan and made a false claim there is a lack of land available for industrial development.