Ford says he’s not skipping legislature
Premier says he’s got meetings and he’s talking to Ontarians about issues
Premier Doug Ford’s attendance in the legislature has taken a dive since controversy began swirling over the hiring of his friend Ron Taverner as head of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Ford, who returned to question period Thursday after the veteran Toronto police superintendent bowed out of the OPP appointment, has missed 11 of 18 question periods since Dec. 1, New Democrat MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo) said Friday. “Since the OPP meddling scandal began, Doug Ford has been absent for 61 per cent of question periods,” she told a news conference closing out a week where the premier was not in the legislature to answer queries from opposition MPPs from Monday through Wednesday.
“He’s ducking questions about his interference in the process to appoint the next OPP commissioner. That’s also why he’s been hiding out so much since the start of the new session” on Feb. 19 following the Family Day long weekend, Fife said. On Wednesday, New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath also was not in question period.
The premier has repeatedly denied having a hand in the appointment of Taverner, announced Nov. 29, saying the process was handled by bureaucrats. Ontario’s integrity commissioner is wrapping up an investigation into any political involvement by Ford with a report expected soon.
Ford’s office issued a statement Friday saying an important part of his job is getting out of Queen’s Park to avoid becoming isolated, and noted the premier attended 38 of 60 or 63 per cent of question periods from July through December. That tally includes six “legitimate” absences for the annual premiers’ conference, meetings with other premiers and Toronto Mayor John Tory. When those absences are factored in, his attendance rose to 73 per cent, on par with the level for former premier Kathleen Wynne in the last parliament, spokesperson Simon Jefferies said.
“Every single day, Premier Doug Ford travels across this province meeting with real people and job creators,” Jefferies added, pointing out a premier’s office count had Horwath missing 62 per cent of question periods in the last parliament.
This week’s Ford stops included a visit to the only Canadian manufacturing plant for Soda Stream, a Sobey’s grocery distribution centre, the annual general meeting of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario and the opening of the Ontario pavilion at the convention of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.
“He heard from industry leaders who employ thousands of hard-working families in the mining sector,” Jefferies added, noting Ford also travelled to Washington last month to meet with “key political and business leaders” including governors of states that are among Ontario’s largest trading partners.
“While the NDP believe that everything begins and ends in downtown Toronto, Premier Doug Ford knows you have to go out and hear from real Ontario families,” Jefferies said.
It is not unusual for handlers to keep premiers or ministers of any political stripe out of question period on occasion when hot-button issues flare. In 2012, then-Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty took the rare step of proroguing the minority legislature and announcing his resignation during a furor over the gas-plants scandal and threats of wage freezes for public-sector workers.
Fife said Ford has been a “noshow” too often at a time when concerns were being raised about the independence of the OPP with a friend of the premier in charge and about the government’s new autism program, which has come under fierce criticism from parents of autistic children.
“The premier of the provinces should be able to visit business and show up to question period and do his job.”
Ford also skipped question period in the week before Christmas after the government called MPPs back to pass legislation to prevent a possible strike by workers at Ontario Power Generation.
Jefferies said that was because the premier had meetings and events planned and because the legislature had been scheduled to be on Christmas break.
That was the week following a decision by Taverner to put his OPP appointment on hold pending the outcome of the integrity commissioner’s investigation.
Fife’s complaint echoes the attention Ford garnered as a mayoral candidate in 2014 for having the third-worst attendance as a Toronto city councillor that year, in which he missed 53 per cent of the votes on municipal issues.
As well, in his four years as councillor for Ward 2 (Etobicoke North), Ford was absent for 30 per cent of the 7,813 total votes during the term his late brother, Rob Ford, was mayor.
During that time, Ford was serving as councillor, president of the family company Deco Labels and Tags, and campaign manager for his brother, who exited the race because of cancer.
After that, Ford picked up his brother’s mantle and ran unsuccessfully for mayor.
“Since the OPP meddling scandal began, Doug Ford has been absent for 61 per cent of question periods.” CATHERINE FIFE WATERLOO NDP MPP