To the dismay of many, Doug Ford announced yesterday he'll be following through with funding cuts to public health and childcare.
And as to be expected, it's sparking major outrage across the province.
Under the changes, municipal governments will have to pay 30 per cent of public health-care costs, as well as 20 per cent of the cost of creating new child-care spaces.
He also announced the provincial government would be providing "transitional funding" to give municipalities time to search for more money and to protect public services — but details explaining exactly what that entails still aren't totally clear.
At this point, Ontarians have become pretty accustomed to Ford slashing funding for public services.
Since he took office in June of 2018, Ford has made cuts to education, tourism, autism services, OSAP and more.
But while residents of Ontario may no longer be surprised by cuts, that doesn't mean they're any less angry.
And Toronto's city councillors are not holding back when it comes to expressing that outrage.
In a statement issued Monday, city councillor and chair of Toronto's Board of Health Joe Cressy said "Premier Ford's announcement of new cuts to public health is nothing short of an attack on Ontarians. Make no mistake, these cuts will hurt people. They are short-sighted and they are wrong."
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam also made her stance clear on Twitter.
Doug Ford announces that he is determined to make life harder for Ontario families. #ResistFordCutshttps://t.co/2DgEfWMrsQ
— Kristyn Wong-Tam (@kristynwongtam) August 19, 2019
Toronto Mayor John Tory released his own statement in response to the cuts.
Though he said he still has to review the full details, he said that the province's deficit must be controlled without impacting the services people in Toronto rely on every day.
As municipal politicians continue to make their voices heard on social media and elsewhere, Ontario residents are being equally as vocal.
Doug Ford claims to be for "the people" but he's #notforthesepeople: people who need public health services, people who need ambulance services or families who need child care.
— Sandi Corrigan (@SandraCorriga11) August 20, 2019
Groups of concerned residents are even organizing, mobilizing, and taking action.
This morning Doug Ford announced he’s making cuts to public health & child care. Tonight our team is knocking on doors in Willowdale helping people tell Ford & their MPP: no cuts to public health, childcare, education or transit! 👟🚪📝 Sign up to join us: https://t.co/BIEZJwlFcZ pic.twitter.com/ekRQTxV4ZZ
— Progress Toronto (@progresstoronto) August 19, 2019
Ontario municipal affairs minister Steve Clark spoke out earlier today in response to concerns, downplaying the situation and urging everyone to remain calm.
But since the announcement of these cuts, Ontario has been anything but calm.
by Mira Miller via blogTO
No comments:
Post a Comment