By Pepper Parr
September 4, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The Premier isn’t going to back down. He did move some of his Cabinet members around but he is sticking to his view that the Greenbelt than grab that former Toronto Mayor David Crombie called a “heist”
“As our province’s population and economy grow, it’s never been more important for us to build Ontario,” said Premier Doug Ford.
“As we continue to attract billions of dollars in new investments to create better jobs with bigger pay cheques, we have the right team in place to get it done. We’ll never stop working on behalf of the people of Ontario to build the homes, highways and public transit our growing communities need.”
The seating arrangement will be different when the Legislature sits late in September.
It was getting too expensive to keep Steve Clark on the front bench – he had to go. He loses a car and driver; the pay cheque will take quite a hit.
Changes to the Executive Council include the following:
Paul Calandra becomes Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing;
Prabmeet Sarkaria becomes Minister of Transportation
Mulroney was never very good on defending Hwy 413
Caroline Mulroney becomes President of the Treasury Board;
Stan Cho becomes Minister of Long-Term Care;
Rob Flack becomes Associate Minister of Housing with a specific mandate on attainable housing and modular homes reporting to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing;Todd McCarthy becomes Associate Minister of Transportation reporting to the Minister of Transportation; and
Nina Tangri becomes Associate Minister of Small Business reporting to the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.
Andrea Khanjin will have an expanded role and will assume additional responsibilities as Deputy Government House Leader reporting to Paul Calandra, who will remain Government House Leader.
Caroline Mulroney will remain Minister of Francophone Affairs. All other ministers maintain their existing portfolios.
Keeping it in the family: Premier Ford congratulates his nephew Michael Douglas Ford MPP is Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism.
This means the Premier’s nephew didn’t get a promotion. Taking an untested first term MPP and putting him in the Cabinet was stunning. Doug works that way.
The public is outraged, The New Democrats, the Liberals and the Greens are all calling for a roll back of the lands that were taken out of the Greenbelt.
Ford seem to have convinced himself that housing is issue #1 for the public. If he is right he might be able to stem the rising tide that is now getting close to his knees.
It was a tough weekend for the Premier. Did he get to the cottage?
