A few months before the pandemic put life in Ontario on hold, Premier Doug Ford came under fire in the legislature for attending cash-for-access dinners and was accused of being swayed by business interests. “Doug Ford can’t be bought, and if someone calls Doug Ford to get something fixed, I’ll show up to their door.”Never mind that Ford had cancelled his personal cellphone months earlier, reportedly because “special interest groups” were inundating him with calls. It’s happened in a range of areas, from pandemic rules for specific businesses to long-term-care homes to COVID testing to the development industry and Highway 413. Ontario jumped to fully fund long-term-care homes, no matter how many beds were empty on account of the appalling COVID death toll of residents. And proving the pandemic hasn’t changed everything, Ford is once again under fire for cash-for-access fundraising.

Source: thestar July 20, 2021 21:00 UTC