So much for Ford’s ‘Open for Business’ mantra

Re Province eliminates funding for cutting-edge AI research, May 19

Star reporter Kate Allen informs us that artificial intelligence is “a field the government’s own prosperity think tank says must be supported if the province wants to remain competitive and create jobs in a booming technology sector.” Ford should have continued to fund the research institutes the $24 million he is cutting, but instead he has committed to spend $30 million to fight the federal carbon tax. So much for his “Open for Business” mantra. Norah Downey, Midland, Ont. At long last, after a provincial electoral campaign featuring few specifics and fuzzy numbers, we have some substance to what the Ford government means by its slogan, “Open for Business.” In the past week, we have seen funding cuts to successful technology programmes funded by the provincial government. GM’s retreat from Oshawa, as the latest reversal in the auto sector, should illustrate for anyone the perils of standing still in business and industry. Why would the Ford government back away from a conspicuous success like the world-class work being done here in artificial intelligence, especially in the all-important tech sector, especially in a field which, by some estimates, will replace 40 per cent of jobs currently being offered?

Wouldn’t it be wise to strengthen our position on the inside of that global shift rather than playing the old, tired game of taxpayers subsidizing jobs from corporations that feel little or no obligation to reward that largesse by investing in our communities?

In the evident spirit of the Ford government’s “Open for Business” policy, I wish to declare dibs on the first roadside lemonade stand position at the nearest border point. Glass by glass, we’ll get this economy back on track. Guy Wright, Etobicoke