The level of the Ford government’s hypocrisy seemingly has no bounds

The Ford government should heed the adage that “honesty in politics is the result of strength; hypocrisy is the result of weakness.”

When the Ford government ran against the Wynne government, they promised to be fiscally responsible. The last Ford budget announced that the deficit would triple to $9.8 billion, the highest non-COVID budget deficit since 2014. Under this government, Ontario’s debt has climbed by more than $100 billion, which is the largest debt of any subnational jurisdiction in the world.

The Conservative’s trained seals obediently applaud Bonnie Crombie as the “Queen of the Carbon Tax”, despite knowing full well that she has never voted for one and has publicly declared her opposition to it. Nevertheless, the Ford government has projected to generate over $2 billion from a carbon tax on industrial emitters in the next eight years. When federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre organized a rally in Premier Ford’s riding to “axe the carbon tax”, why was the Premier conspicuously absent?

Municipal governments throughout the nation, regardless of political affiliation, raise property taxes to match the rate of inflation. During Doug Ford’s tenure on Toronto’s city council, taxes were increased, a situation no different from when Bonnie Crombie served as the mayor of Mississauga. Therefore, why did the Ford political campaign display duplicity in their political advertisements about Bonnie Crombie, but not about Ford himself? Surely, the people have the right to know the entire truth.

Doug Ford inherited a multimillion dollar family business, owns multimillion dollar homes in Toronto, the Muskokas and an elite neighbourhood outside of Miami.

The Ford government’s penchant for accusing teachers of being overpaid and underworked is something I do not agree with, especially when considering their the important role they play.

Additionally, I find it concerning that the Ford government adjourned the Legislature before the end of the school year with no plans to reconvene until well after Thanksgiving.

The Government killed my Private Member’s Bill which took aim at predatory municipal politicians who prey on their staff. When the Ford government killed my bill they promised to introduce legislation before June 2024. Lo and behold, there is no government bill. The government said it was too complex to draft before June. So why did they adjourn the Legislature rather than sit and pass this much-needed legislation?

To make matters even more disheartening, when asked about it, the Premier told the Ottawa Citizen “Ultimately, if they want to remove someone, it’s the people. That’s why we have elections every four years.”

Someone might ask what do all of these things have in common? It is Hypocrisy and a government that is bereft of ideas and clinging to power simply to continue to help their friends, family, donors and political insiders. Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative and tired governments.