Public isn't getting value for money with the current provincial government

By Pepper Parr

December 4^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

This one smells.

From a source at Queen’s Park:

The Provincial government hasn’t done all that much this year. Now they are jamming legislation through with little debate on significant matters.

With just one scheduled sitting week left in the legislative session, the Ford government is accelerating another stack of bills through Queen’s Park.

Time-allocation motions — which cap debate and set a hard timeline for passage — aren’t unheard of in the final sprint before the winter recess. Governments of all stripes have used them to make sure their legislative agendas cross the finish line, and the PCs have even opened the door to midnight sittings to get it all done.

But here’s the thing: critics say this isn’t a last-minute crunch so much as the Ford government’s standard MO. Throughout this session (and even before), the PCs have repeatedly bypassed the committee stage — the part of the process where stakeholders, experts, and the public weigh in, and where (mostly Opposition) MPPs can propose amendments to some of the government’s most contentious bills.

the PCs have the votes — the process itself is the real story.

With a comfortable majority, the Tories can pass their legislation regardless, so shutting out the public and limiting scrutiny can look like overkill — and, as critics say, is part of an anti-democratic pattern.

The latest time-allocation motion from the Progressive Conservative House Leader,  a trio of bills are set to skip committee entirely and head straight for a truncated third reading, with just two hours of debate split between all parties.

• Bill 45, the scaled-back plan to break up Peel Region, which also deals with provincial land and development facilitators…
• Bill 72, which requires the public sector to procure made-in-Ontario goods and services, with steep penalties for those who don’t…
• Bill 76, which green-lights controversial boundary changes in Barrie

Bottom line: All three bills will almost certainly pass — the PCs have the votes — but the process itself is the real storey.