By Drew Garvie
Doug Ford’s Conservative government in Ontario continues to reveal its true character: a champion of deepening exploitation, scapegoating and attacks on the most marginalized and vulnerable. This fall, Ford unleashed a new wave of policies that disguise regressive objectives behind populist rhetoric, targeting workers, immigrants and the environment in the process.
Ford’s dog-whistle politics have escalated, as seen in his response to questions about affordable housing and homelessness. Instead of addressing the real causes of the housing crisis, Ford scapegoats the unhoused, claiming they need to “get off your A-S-S and start working.” This ignores the reality that many shelter users are employed but cannot afford housing due to skyrocketing rents and stagnant wages – a crisis largely created by Ford and his predecessors’ refusal to build social housing.
This new propaganda campaign targeting the most desperate and marginalized risks an increase in state violence as Conservative mayors seek political support for violating peoples’ constitutional rights in order to violently break up encampments across the province. Rather than solving the housing crisis, Ford’s government perpetuates it, redirecting blame onto the most desperate.
In October, Ford announced a ban on international students studying medicine in Ontario. His justification? That they exploit taxpayer resources and leave Canada to practice in their home countries. In fact, international medical students make up a tiny minority, pay exorbitant fees that subsidize domestic post-secondary education funding, and must complete residency programs in Ontario hospitals as part of their training.
Ford’s policy is a transparent anti-immigrant dog whistle, scapegoating international students for the healthcare crisis while ignoring the government’s role in chronic underfunding. Contrast this with Cuba, which offers free medical training to international students on the condition they return to serve their communities. Ford’s approach reveals not only hostility toward immigrants but also exposes the moral superiority of socialism.
Ford’s government also tabled legislation to strip municipalities of the power to implement bike lanes without provincial approval. Worse, it absolves the province of liability for cyclist deaths. This is framed as a measure to ease car traffic congestion, but it conveniently ignores Ontario’s crumbling, privatized public transit infrastructure. While Metrolinx struggles to complete the Eglinton LRT after 13 years – more than twice as long as it took to build Toronto’s first subway line in the 1950s – bike lanes become a convenient scapegoat for congestion.
Instead of improving public transit and addressing the privatization scandals that have plagued infrastructure development, Ford’s government doubles down on car-centric policies that endanger cyclists and stall sustainable urban planning.
Ford’s populist streak is also evident in his $200 cheques to Ontarians, a $3 billion expenditure framed as relief from the cost-of-living crisis. While it may seem like a windfall for struggling families, this cynical pre-election gimmick sidesteps the real causes of the crisis: corporate profiteering by landlords, developers, oil and gas companies, food monopolies and banks.
Without addressing these systemic issues, Ford’s handouts offer no long-term solution. Instead, they pave the way for austerity measures post-election, under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Ford’s latest policies expose a government committed to serving the interests of the most aggressive sections of capital. Whether scapegoating marginalized communities, undermining sustainable transit, or prioritizing corporate profits over public welfare, Ford’s Conservatives are deepening Ontario’s crises rather than solving them.
The working class in Ontario needs bold solutions: investments in public housing, price controls on essentials like food and fuel, massive reinvestment in public transit, and policies that build solidarity rather than scapegoat immigrants and marginalized groups. It is time to mobilize against Ford’s agenda and fight for an Ontario that prioritizes people over profits.
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