While Ford justified the cancellation of the modern sex ed curriculum on the grounds that it was introduced without sufficient consultation, he then announced that the Toronto City Council would be cut in half after consulting no one – and he made this announcement after candidates have been campaigning in existing wards for two months and only one day before the deadline for filing papers to run for a council seat. The merits of this dramatic reduction in the size of the city council are debatable but both the method and timing of the announcement were inexcusable and certain to create maximum confusion and upheaval.
Most recently, Ford announced the cancellation of Ontario’s basic income three year pilot project after only one year, leaving its 4000 participants cut adrift. Since the project was designed to find out how beneficial such a program would be as compared to traditional welfare programs, the $50 million spent during the first year will yield no meaningful results. Since the Conservatives had been critical of wasteful spending and abuse under the welfare programs run by the preceding Liberal Government, one wonders why they wouldn’t want to find out if there is a more effective alternative – especially since they had promised to do so during the election campaign. Instead, they are introducing a number of cuts to social programs that will adversely affect about one million people – while undertaking a major review we are told. Here again, one wonders why the review would not precede the cuts?
On the brighter side, Ford’s promise of beer for a buck is supposed to be in place by September. As more than one wag has already noted, “cut back on sex ed and provide cheap beer – what could possible go wrong!”