Premier Doug Ford off to strong start, as battle with Ottawa heats up

by John Ibbitson

In these opening weeks, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s team has moved swiftly to implement a populist, socially conservative agenda. You may hate that agenda, but this is a focused, capable government. It is also the ideological antithesis of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in Ottawa, which is why the animus between the two is deep and personal.

That animus revealed itself on Friday, when Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Ontario’s new Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod clashed over asylum-seekers who have been entering Canada illegally and then, in many cases, moving to Toronto or Ottawa.

Mr. Hussen accused the Ford government of stigmatizing these new arrivals by calling them queue-jumpers, saying such language is “not Canadian, and it’s very dangerous.”

Ms. MacLeod fought back, saying she “won’t be bullied” by her federal counterpart. The minister particularly objected to “him calling me un-Canadian, which I take great offence to.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a provincial government in such open conflict with the federal government so quickly after taking power. Here is the reason why the two don’t get along:

You might have noticed two words that never appeared in the PCs’ throne speech on Thursday: “environment” and “Indigenous.” Neither issue holds any interest for this government, which is swiftly reversing the previous Liberal government’s efforts to fight climate change, and which has no minister solely dedicated to Indigenous affairs.

full story at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-premier-doug-ford-off-to-strong-start-as-battle-with-ottawa-heats-up/

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