By Pepper Parr
July 11th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Members of CUPE Local 966 (Canadian Union of Public Employees) addressed Region of Peel councillors over concerns about the Ford Government’s secrecy around recommendations made by the Peel Transition Board, including the possibility of privatizing necessary public services like the region’s water and wastewater.
What does this matter to the City of Burlington? What Premier Ford decides to do in Peel is what he is likely going to want to do with the Region of Halton. A Legislative Standing Committee is currently research and deliberating on what should happen to the Region of HAlton going forward.
Whatever gets decided for Peel Region will impact decisions made about Halton Region.
Planning at the Regional level is in the process of being shifted to the municipalities.
“While Doug Ford has backtracked on plans to dissolve the region entirely, plans for the future of the region are still being kept a secret,” said CUPE 966 President Salil Arya, who represents municipal workers in the Region of Peel. “Important decisions that will affect Peel residents and our members like the privatization of public services are being made in the dark without transparency or public knowledge and it’s unacceptable.”
Last month, news broke that the Peel Transition Board could be recommending the privatization of water and wastewater, a decision that could impact on the quality of the region’s water and take control of its most valuable resource out of public hands.
“Peel residents pushed back last year when the province wanted to dissolve the region, and Ford backed down,” said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. “The stakes are even higher if Ford is planning to privatize Peel’s water, because we’re talking about a necessity of life. If it takes another fight by residents to keep Peel water in public hands, CUPE Ontario will be there.”
CUPE 966 called on the Region of Peel to demand that the Ford government release the recommendations made by the transition board, and to reject any plans to privatize public services.
Halton Waste Water treatment plant.
There are a number of services that are Regional: Social welfare; some roads, water and waste removal as well as some services that should perhaps be Region wide, such as transit.
There are changes taking place that the province isn’t saying very much about. We are of course being told about being able to buy beer and mixed drinks at the corner store soon and we are supposed to be impressed with not having to take care of license plate renewal.
The Ontario Science Centre has to be torn down, based on some very conflicting reports.
Shifting to a political perspective, Tom Parkin, writing under a headline that declares: No premier has been able to escape defeat since at least 2011 when their approval rating is 31%; data that came from the Angus Reid Institute quarterly survey data.
At 31 per cent, Ford now has the lowest job approval score of any premier surveyed, according to the latest quarterly survey, released June 26. The quarterly Premier approval survey excludes only Prince Edward Island.
Premier Doug Ford: Not a happy camper; public is hearing a lot of bluster – no clear vision other than silly tricks that add little to the quality of life for most people.
The 31 per cent level appears to mark the edge of a political black hole for premiers and prime ministers. Since at least 2011, no premier or prime minister whose job approval score passed below 31 per cent has been able to escape the pull of defeat.
During June, Ford revealed a controversial and expensive plan to shut The Beer Store and give its sales to grocery and convenience stores, faced continued opposition to his plan to shutter the Ontario Science Centre, and began to fuel early election speculation. Unemployment also rose to 7.0 per cent, well above the national average and the number of full-time jobs declined by 7,400.
Despite Ford’s low personal score, his PC Party’s support remains high on his opponents’ troubles.
Marit Styles, Leader of the NDP opposition is doing a superb job. She has yet to break through in terms of a profile that people will like once they get to know her.
Polls show that as people get to know NDP leader Marit Stiles her positive score rises, but nearly half still cannot make a positive or negative assessment.
Bonnie Crombie: Liberal Party leader looking for a seat in the Legislature hasn’t found the traction many thought would make her a natural to lead the province.
Voters are getting to know Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie faster, but as they do, her negatives rise and her positive impression score remains stalled.
It’s messy.
Women are not shrews. They are made to be shrews. Marit is far above Ford when it comes to social graces and classy behavior. Ford is one big boorish clown flogging beer in his backyard.
Doug Ford has neglected the public interest in Burlington. Hopefully the polls will grab his attention and allow him to consider his local MPPs and their ridings’ voices.
Ford is a populist leader, and populist leaders (e.g. Donald Trump, Boris Johnson) are not known for providing principled leadership. They manage by expediency. They have no principles, they have no firm tenets, they have no backbone, and they have, as has repeatedly been seen in the past, no ethics. Their strategic focus is short-term. Ethical leadership requires a leader to follow their principles and conscience, but what do you do if you have none?
Doug Ford is an opportunist, and he governs by public opinion polls. He does what he thinks the electorate wants with no regard to long-term consequences, evidence-based decision-making, facts, reason or logic. It all comes down to expediency. Because public opinion polls change so too does Ford’s policy direction. That’s why, one minute, he’s opening up greenbelt lands to be developed, and the next minute he’s wrapping himself in the cloak of environmental protection and reversing course.
Boats without compasses, navigational equipment or sonar often go astray. The same is true of governments. In the case of this PC government the sooner Ford’s ship crashes and sinks the better off we’ll all be.
Well-explained, Stephen. We have a crisis of populism in the world that tends to bring dictators to power instead of democratic principled leaders. And with populations today more focused on short-term “what’s in it for me” thinking and short attention spans we are heading into dangerous waters.
To Graham; Are you saying that you have qualms about our present NDP leadership based on some unexplained assumptions about an NDP Government in the 90s? Do you have NO QUALMS about the present Conservative Leader? ( Doug Ford)
Every time I see Stiles on TV I think of “Taming of the shrew”.The NDP will never govern this province. One ship of fools in the 90’s was enough.
Editor’s note: While I have my qualms about an NDP government – Stiles has done a remarkable job in getting issues on the table that Doug Ford wishes were still hidden.