Supporting francophones, and others
Re MPP mutiny over French-language cuts, Nov. 23 I applaud Amanda Simard for breaking rank and supporting her constituents as well as all francophones in Ontario. Having her support has energized the French people of Ontario, including myself. I have emailed my MPP and I plan on attending my first protest on Dec. 1 to show my support.
That being said, I have read many comments asking why there isn’t the same passion for many of the other cuts and cancellations. There must be MPPs who have issues with:
Scrapping of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Scrapping the Ontario Child Advocate Scrapping the Ontario Basic Income Pilot program
Scrapping some of Bill 148 provisions that protect employees, including paying a fair wage Scrapping the Cap & Trade program Rolling back 2015 sex-ed curriculum (still waiting for public consultation)
If so, please break rank with your party, support your constituents and many more Ontarians will support you. With your help, we can keep some of these great initiatives put in place for the people of Ontario. I believe your party was elected as a protest vote against Kathleen Wynne, you were not voted in to scrap every single initiative that was put in place by the Liberals. The people of Ontario are compassionate and giving people who care about their fellow neighbours and the less fortunate in our great province. Michel Horne, Oakville After his egregious stint as MP in the Harper government, I never expected to find myself defending Paul Callandra, now an MPP in Doug Ford’s government. But here I am. When Callandra complained at a caucus meeting that MPPs weren’t receiving notice of changes to some government policies, Ford’s chief of staff, Dean French, reportedly dressed him down for not being a “team player.”
French’s obtuse distortion of “team player” requires MPPs to put up and shut up.
Whatever short-sighted decisions issue from this premier’s office, MPPs are expected to clap and cheer mindlessly. What sort of brave new world is this? Teamwork, Mr. French, means (at the very least) considering your MPPs’ views before issuing government directives.
If you had done so, from the time of taking office, your government might have avoided accruing one public relations disaster after another in a matter of months.
Doug Ford — whose collaborative skills have always been in short supply — needs a chief of staff whose social and intellectual abilities compensate for his boss’s failings, rather than amplifying them. Penny Gill, Dundas