City of Toronto Launches Petition to Undo Doug Ford’s Budget Cuts

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s first term in office has been defined by bringing buck-a-beers back to the people, giving a middle finger to the environment, and de-funding many, many services that could absolutely use the money.

Things like childcare, health and paramedic services, First Nations initiatives, and the tech sector.

According to Legislative Assembly of Ontario MPP Sandy Shaw, “Doug Ford is taking $1,100-worth of programs and services away from every person in Ontario.” Ford’s government will enforce $177 million in cuts in 2019. A further $6 billion in cuts proposed by the provincial government remain unspecified.

Now, the City of Toronto pushing back against the budget cuts by launching a petition to pressure Ford to “reverse the funding cuts it has made to the City of Toronto, and urge the Province to meet with the City to ensure critical public services to health, child care and transit are maintained.”

“I urge all Toronto residents to sign the petition so we can send a message to the province,” said Mayor John Tory on Wednesday morning. “While I wish we could have avoided this next step, I believe it’s important to engage the people of the city in our efforts to stop these cuts.”

Tory’s correspondence with Ford has been futile to date. It remains to be seen whether a petition will bear any compromise.