Who is the Premier trying to protect with the Notwithstanding Clause?
Article content The last few days at Queens Park have further defined the Ford government and its priorities to the people of this Province. When the Ontario Court ruled that sections of the Governments election finance act were unconstitutional, the Premier reacted immediately. Using the most powerful piece of legislation at his disposal  the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian constitution, Premier Ford called an emergency session of the Legislature and in less than one week, he approved protection for himself and his Government. Contrast that Government initiative with the fight for paid sick days that has been identified as a known deterrent for the spread of COVID-19. Over 14 months, there were more than 25 occasions where the Official Opposition brought forward legislation to create paid sick days but each time, the Ford Government voted against them. Finally, facing the constant barrage of common sense and scientific evidence, they recognized the inadequacy of the Federal program and made the decision to provide a program for Ontario workers. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser. Back to video  Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content It was February 2021 before the Government provided the support to Ontario businesses that was identified and recommended in the finance hearings from the summer of 2020. The Ontario tourism industry found itself left out of the business funding due to the strict criteria for approval. Although the Government was keenly aware of the devastating effects the pandemic delivered to tourism in 2020, support for the industry has just been introduced. Although it is appreciated by the industry, it comes too late for many tourism businesses. Residents in long-term care facilities suffered tragically during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 4000 lives lost. One of the ongoing issues continuing to threaten the quality of care for seniors and the infirmed is the lack of staffing in long-term care homes and personal support workers (PSW) to provide home care. Increased responsibility and a workload that lacks fair compensation is a major obstacle when encouraging people to consider the PSW program as a career option. While the government has introduced temporary pay increases, it has yet to introduce permanent wage increases regardless of the Premiers promise that no expense would be spared to improve long term care. These are a few examples where the government has displayed a lack of urgency regarding the impact of the pandemic on the people of Ontario. This is in stark contrast to the rapid action taken regarding the Election Finances Act. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The Ford Government replaced existing legislation and introduced its own with several controversial changes. One of the key changes was increasing the restriction on advertising by third parties (not officially politically affiliated) from six months to a full year before an election. That section of the new Legislature was challenged in the Ontario Superior Court. The Ontario Superior Court ruled that limiting peoples ability to advertise for one full year from the election date violated their right to free speech. Although the government maintains that this change was being made to protect voters, government lawyers were unable to demonstrate that case in court. When this decision was delivered, the Ford Government could have employed alternative options to deal with the decision of the court. The government could have appealed the ruling or re-introduced legislation that did not violate the constitution but the Premier chose to override the Canadian constitution to get his legislation passed. The Premier acted immediately. In the emergency debate on Saturday June 12, 2021, I asked Doug Downey, Attorney General for Ontario, why the Premier chose to override the constitution, instead of taking more reasonable measures. His response was   We cannot allow pop up organizations to have a complete free for all in the Wild West with no accountability, with no limits, and no guardrails. The Attorney General left out some key details in his response. It was his Government that created the Wild West by replacing existing legislation with new legislation that was subsequently struck down by the courts. If the government felt that an appeal would take too long, it could have simply reintroduced the previous legislation that was constitutional. The previous legislation had rules, and limits. There are ongoing RCMP investigations into pop up organizations under the previous legislation. Instead, the Premier decided to make history in Ontario by overriding the Canadian Constitution. It took the Ford government more than a year to provide assistance to many Ontarians suffering the impact of COVID 19, but mere days to silence their voices for a full year before the election.  John Vanthof, MPP Timiskaming-Cochrane  Share this article in your social network        Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. News Near Kirkland Lake