We hear that premier Doug Ford is low bridging this federal election. It is at the begging of his friend Andrew Scheer. Conservative leader Scheer did not want to be upstaged by his provincial supporter. Scheer’s handlers have enough trouble convincing voters that ‘Chuckles’ is not just a tool for the premiers.
It is hardly surprising that Scheer’s opponents travel around Ontario always mentioning the conservative leader and his provincial pal in the same breath.
But an education workers strike that will hit Ontario next week will be the convincer. It will be a fine example of what conservative policies will mean. Electing Scheer would mean erratic cuts in critical fields of government responsibility. Just one example will be a disaster for companies that export around the world. The other day Scheer said he would cut the small amount of foreign aid that Canada provides by 25 per cent. Just think of that as creating another 25 per cent decline in foreign purchases.
And Doug Ford does not need to say anything to make that connection. He is not just a blow-hard who recklessly cuts programs needed to help people. He is a man who thinks wealth has its privileges. He lied his way through the last Ontario election, saying he was ‘For the People.’
As soon as he was elected, he showed his vindictive side and proceeded to get even with the people of Toronto by cutting the number of councillors to a minimum that could not do the job for constituents. He downloaded social costs to municipalities stripping them of their ability to budget effectively and he took away municipal control of their mass transit operations. Doug Ford has since turned his sights on the health and education portfolios of the Ontario government. He has cut and has had to restore programs critical for the sick. He has reduced the number of teachers and increased class sizes in our schools.
This is the conservative strategy for all of Canada. It would be bare bones government if we elect Andrew Scheer and the conservatives on October 21.
And if you do not think he is like his friend Doug Ford, you did not pay attention when Scheer was speaker of the house of commons for the last four years of the Harper conservative regime. It was an unruly, disrespectful government and past legislation that shamed Canadians. We do not want to go backward.
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Copyright 2019 © Peter Lowry
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