'Enough is enough': Province-wide rally to protest Ford government
People are rallying in cities across the province Saturday as part of the Ontario Federation of Labour’s ‘Enough is Enough Day of Action.'
The protests and marches taking aim at the Doug Ford government, with participants looking for solutions to the cost of living crisis.
“We are seeing people, month after month. Countless people having to choose between paying for food, or putting a roof over their heads,” said Lisa Bezaire, a housing social worker in Windsor, Ont.
She was one of dozens who came out to Windsor’s rally, hosted out front of Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie’s office Saturday afternoon.
The Ford Progressive Conservative government was re-elected into office one year ago on Saturday, and the Ontario Federation of Labour is marking the occasion by organizing rallies across Ontario to speak out against their policy and spending decisions.
“People can't afford basic goods and groceries,” said Patti Dalton, president of the London and District Labour Council. “We're looking at massive privatization by the Ford government and we want to see better funding and staffing for public services, like education [and] health care.”
The Federation of Labour wants to see real wage increases in both the private and public sector, keep schools and health care public, more affordable groceries, gas and goods, rent control and affordable housing, and an effort to make banks and corporations pay.
“Wages are not staying up with inflation. And that's what we hear from everyday workers, and people that are unemployed, or on social assistance, they just don't have enough money to survive,” said Mario Spagnuolo, the interim president of the Windsor and District Labour Council.
Windsor-West MPP Lisa Gretzky was at the rally, noting it’s a first for her to join a rally out front of an opposing member’s constituency office.
She said the government isn’t investing taxpayer money in a way that is helping people get by.
“We could spend that money a lot wiser and it would have a much better impact on the people in Windsor and Essex County,” she said.
“Doug Ford is in our corner here. I feel that every single day,” said Dowie. “He loves this community.”
Dowie was not at his office Saturday, but said the PC government has delivered on reducing the cost of living, shortening hospital wait times by moving some non-urgent surgeries to private clinics with OHIP still picking up the tab.
He said the province has also steadily increased the minimum wage is paving the way to getting more homes built and is working to create the conditions for economic prosperity through record investments in infrastructure and the auto sector.
“The people responded a year ago by sending me to Queen's Park and saying we wanted to be part of the solution,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.