The Ford government and the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) are once again greatly at odds with one another about the state of the province’s finances. According to Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s finances are still in relatively decent shape. Bethlenfalvy has consistently insisted that the province’s budget will get back to balance in 2027-28, just […]
Both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford talk a lot about how they are going to “build, baby, build” major new infrastructure to encourage economic growth and strengthen our resilience against the existential threat from our southern neighbour. Through partnerships with the private sector, they predict that projects from expanding airports, ports […]
Ontarians who want to believe the Ford Progressive Conservative government’s claim that things are just going gangbusters in the province will have to wait a while longer for that to be realized. Possibly a very long while, considering the prospects for the province. The most recent nail in Ontario’s economic coffin came last week, courtesy […]
Nearing the anniversary of his latest majority government, Doug Ford, Ontario’s premier since 2018, has some strong words for separatists in other provinces. Speaking about the possibility of the Parti Québécois (PQ) returning to power in Quebec, Ford called the prospect a “disaster” for Canada, sparking a war of words with Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet, […]
Niagara Region’s public and Catholic school boards recently got a rare, positive shout-out from Ontario’s Education Minister Paul Calandra. Calandra singled them out because their students’ performance test results led the province in the latest round of standardized testing. The tests, conducted by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), are an annual assessment of […]
After years of well-documented problems, it appears the Ford government is finally getting serious about implementing some serious reforms to the public education system. In Ontario, spending on the public education system doubled under the Liberal McGuinty and Wynne governments, while student performance declined. Since 2018, when the Ford Progressive Conservatives were first elected, there […]
If you worry about government spending, it is easy to criticize the Ontario Government’s recent announcement to refurbish four nuclear reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Plant, located east of Toronto. The estimated price tag is a staggering $26.8 billion. But price isn’t all that has to be considered. First of all, Ontario needs more energy. […]
Ontario patients should send a thank you note to President Donald Trump and Quebec Premier François Legault. First it was news that American doctors, fearful of the political turmoil in the U.S., were choosing to practice in Ontario. So far, almost 300 have been cleared to do so. Then Legault passed legislation tying doctors’ pay […]
Wrapped up as Ontarians were in the Blue Jays’ Cinderella run to be World Series champions, they may have missed news that Premier Doug Ford’s government is going to scrap fixed election dates and increase donations and public subsidies to political parties. Elections are the backbone of a democracy so any tinkering with the rules […]
While Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra decides what to do with school boards, another controversy is dividing parents, teachers and school board officials – should schools reinstate or maintain “school resource officer” programs. The programs place police officers in schools to help prevent and deal with violence and to try and teach students that police […]