PC Majority
- Thread starter IdRatherBeSkiing
- Start date
While true I don’t see it changing anytime soon. If it does at all it’s probably still more than ten years away.
It's should be like China where you don't have a vote and if anybody complains they end up in a prison factory peeling garlic until their fingernails wear out.
Hey I thought I was the Pig , make up your mind.
The Trumpster now has a mini-me.
Hey please pass the salt .
Bet ? Put your money behind your mouth?
I never saw any like that .
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet
Joyanne Pursaga
Published:
June 8, 2018
Updated:
June 8, 2018 6:00 PM EDT
NDP MLA Bernadette Smithappears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario's next premier.Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
A Manitoba NDP MLA appears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario’s next premier.
Screen grabs of a late Thursday night tweet on the account of Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) show a personal insult against both leaders that was deleted by Friday morning.
“Well the only good thing about Doug Ford winning is that Manitoba no longer has the most annoying and obnoxious premier!” the post read.
Smith declined comment on the post Friday.
A tweet posted by Winnipeg NDP MLA Bernadette Smith following the Ontario provincial election on Thursday and the election of Doug Ford as the Premier-elect of Ontario. It was deleted by Friday morning.
Ford was elected to lead a majority Progressive Conservative government of Ontario on Thursday, after campaigning on tax cuts and opposing carbon taxes. Some of his critics have compared his populist platform to that of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pallister told media he’s not concerned about Smith’s tweet.
“I try to worry about things that I can do something about and I can’t control MLAs tweeting, except for perhaps a little bit in my own caucus,” he said. “I really don’t care.”
The premier said he was more concerned that another Smith tweet refers to a PC motion for MLAs to meet on Fridays during the current legislative sitting as “bullying.”
“It should never be described as bullying, we’re simply trying to give an opportunity to get some work done in the legislative assembly,” he said.
When asked if he was concerned by the personal nature of the “obnoxious” tweet, Pallister did say he suspects Smith will regret it.
“I’ve learned that sometimes when people are afraid of you, afraid of what you represent, afraid of your ideas … they’ll say things that they will regret later and I would say Miss Smith will regret her comments later,” he said.
jpursaga@postmedia.com
Twitter: @pursagawpgsun
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet | Toronto Sun
Joyanne Pursaga
Published:
June 8, 2018
Updated:
June 8, 2018 6:00 PM EDT
NDP MLA Bernadette Smithappears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario's next premier.Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
A Manitoba NDP MLA appears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario’s next premier.
Screen grabs of a late Thursday night tweet on the account of Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) show a personal insult against both leaders that was deleted by Friday morning.
“Well the only good thing about Doug Ford winning is that Manitoba no longer has the most annoying and obnoxious premier!” the post read.
Smith declined comment on the post Friday.
A tweet posted by Winnipeg NDP MLA Bernadette Smith following the Ontario provincial election on Thursday and the election of Doug Ford as the Premier-elect of Ontario. It was deleted by Friday morning.
Ford was elected to lead a majority Progressive Conservative government of Ontario on Thursday, after campaigning on tax cuts and opposing carbon taxes. Some of his critics have compared his populist platform to that of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pallister told media he’s not concerned about Smith’s tweet.
“I try to worry about things that I can do something about and I can’t control MLAs tweeting, except for perhaps a little bit in my own caucus,” he said. “I really don’t care.”
The premier said he was more concerned that another Smith tweet refers to a PC motion for MLAs to meet on Fridays during the current legislative sitting as “bullying.”
“It should never be described as bullying, we’re simply trying to give an opportunity to get some work done in the legislative assembly,” he said.
When asked if he was concerned by the personal nature of the “obnoxious” tweet, Pallister did say he suspects Smith will regret it.
“I’ve learned that sometimes when people are afraid of you, afraid of what you represent, afraid of your ideas … they’ll say things that they will regret later and I would say Miss Smith will regret her comments later,” he said.
jpursaga@postmedia.com
Twitter: @pursagawpgsun
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet | Toronto Sun
What a feckless c*nt. :lol:NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet
Joyanne Pursaga
Published:
June 8, 2018
Updated:
June 8, 2018 6:00 PM EDT
NDP MLA Bernadette Smithappears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario's next premier.Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
A Manitoba NDP MLA appears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario’s next premier.
Screen grabs of a late Thursday night tweet on the account of Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) show a personal insult against both leaders that was deleted by Friday morning.
“Well the only good thing about Doug Ford winning is that Manitoba no longer has the most annoying and obnoxious premier!” the post read.
Smith declined comment on the post Friday.
A tweet posted by Winnipeg NDP MLA Bernadette Smith following the Ontario provincial election on Thursday and the election of Doug Ford as the Premier-elect of Ontario. It was deleted by Friday morning.
Ford was elected to lead a majority Progressive Conservative government of Ontario on Thursday, after campaigning on tax cuts and opposing carbon taxes. Some of his critics have compared his populist platform to that of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pallister told media he’s not concerned about Smith’s tweet.
“I try to worry about things that I can do something about and I can’t control MLAs tweeting, except for perhaps a little bit in my own caucus,” he said. “I really don’t care.”
The premier said he was more concerned that another Smith tweet refers to a PC motion for MLAs to meet on Fridays during the current legislative sitting as “bullying.”
“It should never be described as bullying, we’re simply trying to give an opportunity to get some work done in the legislative assembly,” he said.
When asked if he was concerned by the personal nature of the “obnoxious” tweet, Pallister did say he suspects Smith will regret it.
“I’ve learned that sometimes when people are afraid of you, afraid of what you represent, afraid of your ideas … they’ll say things that they will regret later and I would say Miss Smith will regret her comments later,” he said.
jpursaga@postmedia.com
Twitter: @pursagawpgsun
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet | Toronto Sun
The same was also true when the leftards were busy destroying Ontario but they didn't mind then.
Fact is any of the PRsystems being flogged and especially the current one the BCDippers are running with have far more serious problems. The current one will make it vertu Ally impossible for Independents because seats are awarded to the PARTY based on the popular vote. Another important failure of any PR systems is that you will no longer have a local representitive.
What would be more fair is giving large rural ridings extra votes based on either the sq.km. or number of communities represented.
They just got it.
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet
Joyanne Pursaga
Published:
June 8, 2018
Updated:
June 8, 2018 6:00 PM EDT
NDP MLA Bernadette Smithappears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario's next premier.Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
A Manitoba NDP MLA appears to have posted a tweet insulting both Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario’s next premier.
Screen grabs of a late Thursday night tweet on the account of Bernadette Smith (Point Douglas) show a personal insult against both leaders that was deleted by Friday morning.
“Well the only good thing about Doug Ford winning is that Manitoba no longer has the most annoying and obnoxious premier!” the post read.
Smith declined comment on the post Friday.
A tweet posted by Winnipeg NDP MLA Bernadette Smith following the Ontario provincial election on Thursday and the election of Doug Ford as the Premier-elect of Ontario. It was deleted by Friday morning.
Ford was elected to lead a majority Progressive Conservative government of Ontario on Thursday, after campaigning on tax cuts and opposing carbon taxes. Some of his critics have compared his populist platform to that of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Pallister told media he’s not concerned about Smith’s tweet.
“I try to worry about things that I can do something about and I can’t control MLAs tweeting, except for perhaps a little bit in my own caucus,” he said. “I really don’t care.”
The premier said he was more concerned that another Smith tweet refers to a PC motion for MLAs to meet on Fridays during the current legislative sitting as “bullying.”
“It should never be described as bullying, we’re simply trying to give an opportunity to get some work done in the legislative assembly,” he said.
When asked if he was concerned by the personal nature of the “obnoxious” tweet, Pallister did say he suspects Smith will regret it.
“I’ve learned that sometimes when people are afraid of you, afraid of what you represent, afraid of your ideas … they’ll say things that they will regret later and I would say Miss Smith will regret her comments later,” he said.
jpursaga@postmedia.com
Twitter: @pursagawpgsun
NDP MLA insults Pallister, Doug Ford in tweet | Toronto Sun
Manitoba hasn't had that problem since the Dippers overran BC last year.
Americans be like: "You can't possibly elect anyone as bad as we did."
Ontario be like: "Hold my beer."
Ontario be like: "Hold my beer."
We’ve been without luck since October 3, 2003, and it came back June 7, 2018.
Wynne hopes Ford changes rules to give Liberals official party status
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
June 9, 2018
Updated:
June 9, 2018 7:40 PM EDT
Kathleen Wynne takes to the stage before announcing she is stepping down as leader of the Ontario Liberal party at the election watching party at York Mills Gallery in Toronto, Ont on Thursday June 7, 2018. Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun
TORONTO — Ontario’s outgoing Liberals made a pitch to hold on to official party status Friday as they entered a period of extreme uncertainty in the wake of an election that took them from a majority government to a mere seven seats.
Kathleen Wynne, who stepped down as Liberal leader after the party’s dramatic downfall, said she hopes premier-designate Doug Ford will change the rules to grant the designation, which currently requires eight seats in the legislature.
“I think it’s important,” she said. “I hope that Mr. Ford will agree.”
Former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announces to supporters that she is stepping away from her Liberal seat during her election night party at York Mills Gallery in on Thursday, June 7, 2018. Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ford only said he would talk to his team about the issue in the days and weeks to come.
Being a recognized party in the legislature allows parties to have an office for their leader and access resources such as research assistance, but the threshold required for the designation can be changed by legislators, as has been in the past.
The loss of that status is “one more indignity” to the Liberals as they try to rebuild following a devastating defeat that propelled the Progressive Conservatives to power for the first time in 15 years and elevated the New Democrats to the official Opposition, said Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University.
“They’ve been laid lower than they’ve ever been before, (their loss) is not the single worst disaster for a major political party in Canada but it ranks up there,” he said.
“I absolutely think the Ontario Liberal party is coming back, I have no doubt about that but it’s going to be a long road for them … they’re going to need some time to lick their wounds, to retool, to identify a new leadership.”
The party will face financial challenges, both in and out of the legislature, which the loss of party status will aggravate, he said. The legislative assembly’s internal economy board sets aside funds each year to be distributed among official parties.
It’s unlikely the NDP would support loosening the rules around party status considering they were denied a similar reprieve under the Liberals in 2003, Malloy said.
New Democrats were granted some accommodations at the time, including some funding, and earned party status the following year when leader Andrea Horwath won a byelection.
“I don’t really see why the NDP would want to give anything to the Liberals now…memories are long in politics,” Malloy said.
Horwath was pressed on the issue Friday and would only say that the decision was Ford’s to make. “The people gave the Liberals seven seats, that’s what they have in the legislature and that’s what they’re going to have to deal with,” she said.
The Liberals, who had faced voter anger over rising hydro bills and questionable government spending among other issues, said they would weigh their next steps. Asked how long she believes the party will need to recover, Wynne said regardless of the timeline, the work must begin now.
“We need to reconnect with each other now that the election is over and with our communities and use that same capacity that we have had for many, many years to rebuild,” she said. “I can’t tell you how long that’s going to take but our target is four years.”
The party’s president, Brian Johns, said the process to select an interim leader from the seven caucus members was underway, though he declined to say how long it would take or when the party would begin looking for a permanent successor to Wynne.
Former Liberal cabinet minister John Milloy, now an assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, said the last thing the party should do is rush to select a permanent leader.
People are exhausted and resources are thin following the campaign, he said, and the party would do better to bide its time.
“I would think that they’d want to consolidate, get their feet under them, figure out how they’re going to operate in the legislature,” he said.
“I could see them choosing … the middle option — someone who’s going to carry the ball for a while and then you sort of have a convention closer to the next election, in a couple of years, where you could actually showcase someone.”
While it’s too early to name contenders to lead the Liberals into the next election, the party has several options to hold the fort before then, he said.
Ontario premier-elect Doug Ford walks out onto the front lawn of the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Friday, June 8, 2018. Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
If the Liberals want a “seasoned hand” to act as the party’s caretaker, legislator Michael Gravelle would be a good choice and is respected within the party, he said. Or they could pick among their younger legislators if they want a fresh face who may eventually seek to take up the mantle permanently, he said.
Either way, the party will need to be creative to shore up excitement on a shoestring budget, he said, noting the upcoming federal election will provide an opportunity to capitalize on the federal party’s brand and keep Liberal flames alive.
The Tory majority could play in the party’s favour if the new government proves ineffective or starts making mistakes, he added.
“But the biggest challenge that I think the provincial Liberals have is they’re going to have to differentiate themselves from the New Democratic Party and I think quite frankly that was one of the issues (in the election).”
Wynne hopes Ford changes rules to give Liberals official party status | Toronto Sun
Canadian Press
More from Canadian Press
Published:
June 9, 2018
Updated:
June 9, 2018 7:40 PM EDT
Kathleen Wynne takes to the stage before announcing she is stepping down as leader of the Ontario Liberal party at the election watching party at York Mills Gallery in Toronto, Ont on Thursday June 7, 2018. Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun
TORONTO — Ontario’s outgoing Liberals made a pitch to hold on to official party status Friday as they entered a period of extreme uncertainty in the wake of an election that took them from a majority government to a mere seven seats.
Kathleen Wynne, who stepped down as Liberal leader after the party’s dramatic downfall, said she hopes premier-designate Doug Ford will change the rules to grant the designation, which currently requires eight seats in the legislature.
“I think it’s important,” she said. “I hope that Mr. Ford will agree.”
Former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announces to supporters that she is stepping away from her Liberal seat during her election night party at York Mills Gallery in on Thursday, June 7, 2018. Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ford only said he would talk to his team about the issue in the days and weeks to come.
Being a recognized party in the legislature allows parties to have an office for their leader and access resources such as research assistance, but the threshold required for the designation can be changed by legislators, as has been in the past.
The loss of that status is “one more indignity” to the Liberals as they try to rebuild following a devastating defeat that propelled the Progressive Conservatives to power for the first time in 15 years and elevated the New Democrats to the official Opposition, said Jonathan Malloy, a political science professor at Carleton University.
“They’ve been laid lower than they’ve ever been before, (their loss) is not the single worst disaster for a major political party in Canada but it ranks up there,” he said.
“I absolutely think the Ontario Liberal party is coming back, I have no doubt about that but it’s going to be a long road for them … they’re going to need some time to lick their wounds, to retool, to identify a new leadership.”
The party will face financial challenges, both in and out of the legislature, which the loss of party status will aggravate, he said. The legislative assembly’s internal economy board sets aside funds each year to be distributed among official parties.
It’s unlikely the NDP would support loosening the rules around party status considering they were denied a similar reprieve under the Liberals in 2003, Malloy said.
New Democrats were granted some accommodations at the time, including some funding, and earned party status the following year when leader Andrea Horwath won a byelection.
“I don’t really see why the NDP would want to give anything to the Liberals now…memories are long in politics,” Malloy said.
Horwath was pressed on the issue Friday and would only say that the decision was Ford’s to make. “The people gave the Liberals seven seats, that’s what they have in the legislature and that’s what they’re going to have to deal with,” she said.
The Liberals, who had faced voter anger over rising hydro bills and questionable government spending among other issues, said they would weigh their next steps. Asked how long she believes the party will need to recover, Wynne said regardless of the timeline, the work must begin now.
“We need to reconnect with each other now that the election is over and with our communities and use that same capacity that we have had for many, many years to rebuild,” she said. “I can’t tell you how long that’s going to take but our target is four years.”
The party’s president, Brian Johns, said the process to select an interim leader from the seven caucus members was underway, though he declined to say how long it would take or when the party would begin looking for a permanent successor to Wynne.
Former Liberal cabinet minister John Milloy, now an assistant professor of public ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, said the last thing the party should do is rush to select a permanent leader.
People are exhausted and resources are thin following the campaign, he said, and the party would do better to bide its time.
“I would think that they’d want to consolidate, get their feet under them, figure out how they’re going to operate in the legislature,” he said.
“I could see them choosing … the middle option — someone who’s going to carry the ball for a while and then you sort of have a convention closer to the next election, in a couple of years, where you could actually showcase someone.”
While it’s too early to name contenders to lead the Liberals into the next election, the party has several options to hold the fort before then, he said.
Ontario premier-elect Doug Ford walks out onto the front lawn of the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Friday, June 8, 2018. Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
If the Liberals want a “seasoned hand” to act as the party’s caretaker, legislator Michael Gravelle would be a good choice and is respected within the party, he said. Or they could pick among their younger legislators if they want a fresh face who may eventually seek to take up the mantle permanently, he said.
Either way, the party will need to be creative to shore up excitement on a shoestring budget, he said, noting the upcoming federal election will provide an opportunity to capitalize on the federal party’s brand and keep Liberal flames alive.
The Tory majority could play in the party’s favour if the new government proves ineffective or starts making mistakes, he added.
“But the biggest challenge that I think the provincial Liberals have is they’re going to have to differentiate themselves from the New Democratic Party and I think quite frankly that was one of the issues (in the election).”
Wynne hopes Ford changes rules to give Liberals official party status | Toronto Sun
They were warned about insisting on being inane losers, But NO, they said, voting people don't have the right to decide that.
Trouble is: the right hand can't clap without a feft one to slap.
Of course, having said that though, the coming financial collapse will fall on the conservative watch, after which they may just get mulroonied, and then all we will have is the NewDrunkardParty and the unmasked communists and the green food party.
Doug Ford's PC government will move on these 5 promises quickly
Ontario's premier-designate Doug Ford plans a quick, three-week transition to power, and then swift action on some of his campaign promises.
Conversations with Progressive Conservative insiders suggest that Ford could put a handful of measures in place immediately after he and his cabinet are sworn in.
Ford and outgoing premier Kathleen Wynne have agreed to meet on June 29 for the transition.
Here's a look at what to expect:
1. Look at the books
One of the central themes of Ford's campaign was a claim that the recently governing Liberals have "cooked the books."
He promised a line-by-line audit of government spending and a commission of inquiry to investigate the difference between the $6.7-billion deficit in the Liberals' 2018-19 budget and the auditor general's view that proper accounting would put the deficit at $11.7 billion.
Since many of Ford's other promises are contingent upon what the probe into the province's finances reveals, it makes sense that this would be among his first moves.
"You've got to find out what you actually inherited," said one veteran PC official, who would only freely discuss the Ford transition on the condition of anonymity. "Priority No. 1 has to be to find out just what is the state of Ontario's finances."
The PCs have said the commission will cost $1 million, which would suggest it's not going to be a long and drawn out process.
2. Hydro moves
Before the campaign had officially started, Ford said the "first thing" he would do if elected premier would be to fire the CEO of Hydro One, who earned more than $6 million in salary and bonuses last year.
Ford would first have to take steps to dump the electricity transmission utility's government-appointed board members , then leave it to those new board members to dump CEO Mayo Schmidt. If that happens, Schmidt is in line for a hefty severance package. The move would appeal strongly to Ford's support base and send a signal about one of the central — and perhaps fatal — acts of the Wynne government: the privatization of Hydro One .
Ford could also act quickly on his promise to reduce the price of electricity.
One of his proposed tactics is to put the $300-million annual dividend the government gets from its Hydro One shares to different use: instead of dumping it into provincial coffers, the PCs say they would put it back into subsidizing the province's hydro system, delivering an immediate price cut.
3. Challenge the carbon tax
Something Ford cannot do quickly is dismantle Ontario's cap-and-trade system, which requires industries to pay for their carbon emissions. The system is embedded in legislation and wrapped up in legal agreements with Quebec and California.
What Ford can do immediately is make good on his vow to fight the federal Liberal government's policy of imposing a carbon tax on any province that fails to bring in its own carbon pricing. To launch the challenge, the government would file what's called a "reference question" with the Ontario Court of Appeal, asking it to rule on the constitutionality of a federal carbon tax. Whatever the court rules, the case could then be taken to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Saskatchewan has already launched such a challenge.)
4. Rewrite Ontario's sex-ed curriculum
Ford's stance on sex education helped propel him to the PC leadership. He will be under pressure from that support base to act quickly on his platform plank to revert to using Ontario's late-1990s sex-ed curriculum "until we can install a new one that is age appropriate and based on real consultation with parents."
When asked about the curriculum on Friday, Ford did not lay out a time frame.
"I can tell you one thing: we're repealing it," said Ford. "And I'll tell you another thing: we keep our promises. What we say we're going to do, we're going to do. We aren't going to flip-flop."
Advertisement
5. End the York University strike
It's one of the longest strikes by university faculty in Canadian history.
If there is no deal in the coming weeks, Ford could bring in back-to-work legislation so that the strike does not continue into the fall. That would require him to convene the Legislature, lay out a Throne Speech and have the House sit long enough to pass the bill.
The NDP would use its presence as the new Official Opposition to slow the legislation down, but the majority PCs would be able to push it through in a matter of days.
Ontario's Election Brought Down Carbon Prices 2,000 Miles Away
When Ontario elected its new premier on Thursday, the price of carbon in California fell.
Why? Because the Canadian province and California run a joint carbon market, so a carbon allowance traded in Ontario is essentially the same as an allowance traded in the Golden State. Doug Ford, Ontario’s next premier, has vowed to kill the local cap-and-trade program, a move that would sever its ties with the market.
While California remains the dominant player in the joint carbon market, Ontario makes up about a quarter of it, said Colleen Regan, an analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Carbon allowances traded as part of the joint market for December delivery fell 10 cents on Friday to $15.05 a metric ton, according to David Nussbaum, a broker for Evolution Markets Inc.
"These elections do speak to the fragility of these programs,” Regan said. She noted that the market’s reaction was a bit muted because of an oversupply of allowances.
For its part, the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the state’s carbon market, said it has a mutually beneficial relationship with Ontario on climate issues and looks "forward to continuing that relationship with the new government.”
Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change declined to comment.
Ontario's premier-designate Doug Ford plans a quick, three-week transition to power, and then swift action on some of his campaign promises.
Conversations with Progressive Conservative insiders suggest that Ford could put a handful of measures in place immediately after he and his cabinet are sworn in.
Ford and outgoing premier Kathleen Wynne have agreed to meet on June 29 for the transition.
Here's a look at what to expect:
1. Look at the books
One of the central themes of Ford's campaign was a claim that the recently governing Liberals have "cooked the books."
He promised a line-by-line audit of government spending and a commission of inquiry to investigate the difference between the $6.7-billion deficit in the Liberals' 2018-19 budget and the auditor general's view that proper accounting would put the deficit at $11.7 billion.
Since many of Ford's other promises are contingent upon what the probe into the province's finances reveals, it makes sense that this would be among his first moves.
"You've got to find out what you actually inherited," said one veteran PC official, who would only freely discuss the Ford transition on the condition of anonymity. "Priority No. 1 has to be to find out just what is the state of Ontario's finances."
The PCs have said the commission will cost $1 million, which would suggest it's not going to be a long and drawn out process.
2. Hydro moves
Before the campaign had officially started, Ford said the "first thing" he would do if elected premier would be to fire the CEO of Hydro One, who earned more than $6 million in salary and bonuses last year.
Ford would first have to take steps to dump the electricity transmission utility's government-appointed board members , then leave it to those new board members to dump CEO Mayo Schmidt. If that happens, Schmidt is in line for a hefty severance package. The move would appeal strongly to Ford's support base and send a signal about one of the central — and perhaps fatal — acts of the Wynne government: the privatization of Hydro One .
Ford could also act quickly on his promise to reduce the price of electricity.
One of his proposed tactics is to put the $300-million annual dividend the government gets from its Hydro One shares to different use: instead of dumping it into provincial coffers, the PCs say they would put it back into subsidizing the province's hydro system, delivering an immediate price cut.
3. Challenge the carbon tax
Something Ford cannot do quickly is dismantle Ontario's cap-and-trade system, which requires industries to pay for their carbon emissions. The system is embedded in legislation and wrapped up in legal agreements with Quebec and California.
What Ford can do immediately is make good on his vow to fight the federal Liberal government's policy of imposing a carbon tax on any province that fails to bring in its own carbon pricing. To launch the challenge, the government would file what's called a "reference question" with the Ontario Court of Appeal, asking it to rule on the constitutionality of a federal carbon tax. Whatever the court rules, the case could then be taken to the Supreme Court of Canada. (Saskatchewan has already launched such a challenge.)
4. Rewrite Ontario's sex-ed curriculum
Ford's stance on sex education helped propel him to the PC leadership. He will be under pressure from that support base to act quickly on his platform plank to revert to using Ontario's late-1990s sex-ed curriculum "until we can install a new one that is age appropriate and based on real consultation with parents."
When asked about the curriculum on Friday, Ford did not lay out a time frame.
"I can tell you one thing: we're repealing it," said Ford. "And I'll tell you another thing: we keep our promises. What we say we're going to do, we're going to do. We aren't going to flip-flop."
Advertisement
5. End the York University strike
It's one of the longest strikes by university faculty in Canadian history.
If there is no deal in the coming weeks, Ford could bring in back-to-work legislation so that the strike does not continue into the fall. That would require him to convene the Legislature, lay out a Throne Speech and have the House sit long enough to pass the bill.
The NDP would use its presence as the new Official Opposition to slow the legislation down, but the majority PCs would be able to push it through in a matter of days.
Ontario's Election Brought Down Carbon Prices 2,000 Miles Away
When Ontario elected its new premier on Thursday, the price of carbon in California fell.
Why? Because the Canadian province and California run a joint carbon market, so a carbon allowance traded in Ontario is essentially the same as an allowance traded in the Golden State. Doug Ford, Ontario’s next premier, has vowed to kill the local cap-and-trade program, a move that would sever its ties with the market.
While California remains the dominant player in the joint carbon market, Ontario makes up about a quarter of it, said Colleen Regan, an analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Carbon allowances traded as part of the joint market for December delivery fell 10 cents on Friday to $15.05 a metric ton, according to David Nussbaum, a broker for Evolution Markets Inc.
"These elections do speak to the fragility of these programs,” Regan said. She noted that the market’s reaction was a bit muted because of an oversupply of allowances.
For its part, the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the state’s carbon market, said it has a mutually beneficial relationship with Ontario on climate issues and looks "forward to continuing that relationship with the new government.”
Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change declined to comment.