You’d be forgiven for thinking that an unprecedented crisis like COVID-19 could change just about anyone, for good or bad. It changed our relationships; how we work; how we go out; how, or whether, we travel – surely even Doug Ford’s Conservatives could change.
But the Premier, who once said that “people are sick and tired of tax tax tax, spend spend spend,” never came around to the fact that public services save lives and that gutting them of resources must never be repeated. And his party’s newly-announced budget, with its big numbers and big promises, the culmination of a dizzying announcement blitz, is just more deception and misdirection – not the recognition of an overdue reckoning that we so desperately need.
“When people show you who they are the first time, believe them,” said the poet Maya Angelou. Put another way: A leopard never changes its spots.
Take the budget’s healthcare proposal and the fact that they’re not increasing funding for it, nevermind what the Ford Conservatives say. When you account for inflation, population growth, and demographic changes, we’re seeing a real cut amid a sixth wave. Ontario already spent less on healthcare per person than any other province. Now, instead of stepping on the gas to catch up, the government’s screeching to a halt and calling it progress. Moreover, there are signs that much of the existing funding will end up going to for-profit hospitals, clinics, and long-term care homes – even more public money padding the profit margins of facilities that have a habit of cutting corners, jeopardizing care and working conditions.
It’s the same story for education that saw a cut of $1.3-billion this year alone. There’s nothing in this plan to reduce class sizes, sufficiently deal with the repair backlog, upgrade ventilation to keep students and education workers safe, or pay workers better. And, like passing off someone else’s homework as theirs, almost all the increased funding for next year is due to the federal childcare agreement.
The numbers are clear and undeniable: $685-million cut from post-secondary education this year. $632-million cut from Children’s and Social Services. A $2.7-billion cut overall over the next three years.
The brazen, yet paltry, attempt to buy an election is also clear and undeniable.
