Pattern
Dismiss, undermine, or fail to respond to oversight bodies and their recommendations.
Cumulative Documented Cost
Pattern Sequence
AG: Greenbelt removal benefited insiders — 2 ministers resign, PM stays (2023)
AG: Skills Development Fund audit finds systemic irregularities (2023)
Gillese Inquiry: LTC staffing minimums recommended, delayed years (2019)
Financial Accountability Office (FAO) reports routinely challenge government cost claims with no response
Documentation
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On April 17, 2026, the Ontario government confirmed it had spent $28.9 million on a pre-owned 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 jet for Premier Doug Ford's use. The province cited federal-provincial meetings and US tariff travel. Operating costs were not publicly disclosed at the time of announcement. NDP, Liberal, and Canadian Taxpayers Federation criticism was immediate; civic group NoJetsTO linked the purchase to the government's concurrent Billy Bishop Airport expansion plan under Bill 5.
On April 13, 2026, Education Minister Paul Calandra introduced the Putting Student Achievement First Act, which caps elected trustees at 12 per board (nearly halving TDSB's current count of 22), caps trustee honoraria at $10,000, replaces directors of education with ministry-appointed CEOs requiring business credentials, gives the Ministry of Education tie-breaking authority over board budgets and sole authority to terminate CEOs, and designates the Council of Ontario Directors of Education as the central bargaining agency for English public and Catholic boards. French-language boards are largely untouched. ETFO characterized the legislation as an "unprecedented rollback of local democracy."
On April 23, 2026, the Ford government passed Bill 97, rewriting Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to permanently exclude the Premier's Office, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, and all political staff from FOI requests. The changes are retroactive to 1988, nullify dozens of pending FOI cases, and override a court order directing Ford to release personal cellphone records. The Information and Privacy Commissioner said the law makes Ontario less transparent than any other Canadian jurisdiction. Democracy Watch is preparing a constitutional challenge. An Abacus Data poll found only 24% of Ontarians supported the policy (cited in Globe and Mail editorial, April 21, 2026).
Ontario committed $300 million in public mezzanine debt through the Building Ontario Fund to anchor a $1.3 billion fund — managed by private firm High Art Capital — to purchase roughly 2,200 unsold GTA condos and convert them into rental units. Only 25% of units will have below-market rents. Critics argue the fund is a liquidity lifeline for developers facing bankruptcy, effectively putting a price floor under the condo market at taxpayer expense.
Courts ordered the Premier to turn over personal phone records used for government business.
Ontario's Court of Appeal cleared the province to proceed with removing 19 kilometres of Toronto bike lanes. On Sept. 1, 2026, the government issued an RFP for engineering design work to restore vehicle lanes on Bloor, Yonge, University, Queen's Park, and Avenue Road, and on Oct. 8 said removal on Bloor Street West would begin Oct. 13. Toronto says it spent $27M installing the lanes and estimates removal at $48M. A province-commissioned CIMA+ analysis projected that collisions involving all road users could rise by up to 54%.
Manufactured a structural crisis using a misleading roof report to justify closing the Science Centre and relocating it to Ontario Place to support the Therme spa deal.
From moratorium to full defunding: the Ford government froze new supervised consumption sites in 2023, legislated closures of 10 sites near schools via Bill 223 in 2024, then defunded all 7 remaining provincial sites in March 2026 — during an opioid crisis that killed 2,231 Ontarians in 2024 alone.
Cancelled Ontario's cap and trade program, forfeiting $3B in revenue according to the FAO. Saved drivers pennies, cost the treasury billions.
Showing 9 of 26 cases. View all →