These organizations, which claim to defend Indigenous communities, the environment, public health and education, say they have witnessed an attack on Ontario’s key public services since Doug Ford took office in 2018.
“We cannot stand idly by while this government threatens the future of this province. »
– A quote from the Coalition of Organizations Against the Ford Government
According to these activists, the prime minister has deliberately undermined and underfunded Ontario’s public health and education systems, leading to staffing shortages and lack of access to basic services.
The protesters also denounced the privatization and control of companies [les] Health and education systems, leading to the diversion of public funds to businesses.
Against a private health system
Faile Bobier, protester and member of Ontario Health Coalition, mobilizes against privatization of public hospitals. She admits she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and would never have been able to pay for her medical exams if the healthcare system had been penalized. If we don’t fight now, that’s what awaits us, she warns.
Ms Bobier says she rejects a system where rich and poor don’t have equal health rights.
“That is inhumane! Health care should be a public good for everyone, not just those who can pay. »
– A quote from Faile Bobier, protester and member of the Ontario Health Coalition
The same story from Ontario Health Coalition Executive Director Natalie Mehra. In your opinion, the Ford administration has no mandate to undermine and privatize our public hospital system.
“It’s destroying our healthcare, not innovation. »
– A quote from Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition
Against unbridled urban development
Regarding the environment, protesters castigated the passage of the housing promotion bill. Activists believe Bill 23 will limit the powers of conservation agencies and the ability of citizens to oppose proposed developments in their own communities.
These measures undermine our democratic rights and serve to enrich wealthy donors at the expense of the future of our province, the coalition said in a press release.
The demonstrators complained about “unbridled urban development in the green belt” and a lack of consultation with indigenous peoples.
Photo: Radio Canada / Robert Krbavac
Kim Bradshaw, co-founder of Greenbelt Guardians, which fights to protect the green belt, says the Ford administration is encouraging rampant urban development that threatens farmlands, wetlands and green spaces.
On this issue, the organizations also lament the lack of consultation with indigenous peoples, as these developments directly affect their lands and their treaty rights.
For his part, Fuyuki Kurasawa, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at York University, recalled that the Ford administration is trying to get people to accept [ce projet de développement urbain dans la ceinture de verdure] as one of the key solutions to solving the real estate crisis in Ontario, particularly in the greater Toronto area.
For Mr. Kurasawa, what has harmed the Ford administration and what partly explains this mobilization is an apparent scandal surrounding Doug Ford’s invitation to party donors to his daughter’s wedding.
“Any opposition to a government in power hinges on a small incident that is not significant as such but symbolizes the way the government is handling things. »
— A quote from Fuyuki Kurasawa, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at York University
This sociology professor doubts that popular discontent will make the government back down, but he believes the demonstrations may still allow the opposition to change its original plan.
Fuyuki Kurasawa adds that Ottawa’s intervention in the province’s political scene could handicap the Ford government.
Ontarians also listen to the federal government. When he asks questions, it makes people think. That could worry Conservative Party strategists in Ontario.
With information from Yanick Lepage