Promises vs. Reality

“Land Value Windfall”

Removing protection from land recently purchased by developers at low prices, allowing windfall profits of $8.3 billion for a small group of well-connected landowners.

• Land worth $80M purchased; after removal worth $8.3Bsource
• Developers met with Housing Minister's chief of staffsource
• Greenbelt lands not needed—urban land available for 2M+ homessource

“Developer Land Value Bonanza”

The route passes through land owned by developers with ties to the PC party. Independent studies show it would save only 30-60 seconds, not 30 minutes.

• Independent analysis: actual time savings of 30-60 seconds, not 30 minutessource
• Route crosses Greenbelt land owned by 8 PC-connected developerssource
• Bill 212 exempted it from environmental assessment requirementssource

“Defunding the Workforce”

Forcing a real-wage cut during high inflation to trigger a staffing crisis. When public workers leave, private alternatives can fill the void at higher cost to taxpayers.

• Nurses real wages dropped 11% over 3 years (1% raise vs 4-7% inflation)source
• Ontario projected 33,000 nurses + PSWs short by 2028 (FAO)source
• Agency nursing spending increased 300%+ at hospitalssource

“Permanent Privatization”

Moving simple, profitable surgeries (cataracts, hips, knees) to private corporations. Hospitals are left with only complex, expensive cases, making them appear inefficient.

• $280M in public funds directed to private clinics (June + Dec 2025 gov't announcements)source
• Clinics owned by PC donors received licensessource
• Surgeons leave hospitals to work at higher-paying private clinicssource

“Public Land to Private Spa”

Leasing prime waterfront to Therme Group for a luxury spa on a 95-year lease. Demolished the Ontario Science Centre to clear the path. Auditor General found total cost ballooned from $350M to $2.2B+ — while Therme's rent is worth only $163M in present value.

• No competitive bidding—Therme selected through sole-source processsource
• Ontario Science Centre demolished despite Rimkus report showing it was structurally soundsource
• Auditor General: total taxpayer cost $2.2B+ (up from original $350M estimate)source

“$742M — 56% to Lower-Ranked Applicants”

Auditor General found 56% of funding went to lower-ranked applicants overridden by the minister's office, without competitive process or measurable outcomes.

• Auditor General: 56% of $742M went to lower-ranked applicants overridden by minister's officesource
• No competitive application process for many grantssource
• Outcomes not tracked—no data on how many workers actually trainedsource

“Clearing the Site for Developers”

Engineers recommended targeted repairs costing a fraction of demolition. Instead, the government chose relocation to Ontario Place, where the Science Centre would serve as an anchor tenant for Therme's private spa complex, freeing up 60+ acres of Don Mills land for redevelopment.

• Rimkus Engineering report recommended RAAC panel repairs, not demolitionsource
• Roof repair costs: ~$21-40M vs relocation costs: ~$700M (Auditor General, Dec 2024)source
• New location at Ontario Place is 1/10 the size of the originalsource

“Retroactive Liability Shield for LTC Operators”

The real beneficiaries were for-profit long-term care corporations. The military found residents abandoned in soiled diapers, infestations, and force-feeding. Bill 218 shielded these homes from the lawsuits their neglect warranted.

• Canadian Armed Forces found cockroaches, residents left in soiled diapers for dayssource
• Military report documented force-feeding, inadequate PPE, understaffingsource
• Bill retroactively shielded for-profit LTC operators from negligence lawsuitssource

“$5.2B to Employers While Injured Workers Suffer”

The WSIB surplus was built by systematically denying claims from injured workers. Rather than improving benefits for workers living in poverty, $5.2 billion was handed to employers through three rounds of premium rebates ($1.2B in 2022, $2B in Feb 2025, $2B in Fall 2025).

• $5.2 billion in employer premium rebates across three rounds (2022, 2025, 2025)source
• WSIB denial rates increased while surplus grewsource
• Average injured worker benefits below poverty linesource

“$3B Revenue Lost, No Climate Plan”

Ontario cancelled cap-and-trade without any replacement climate strategy. $3 billion in revenue was forfeited — money earmarked for transit, green retrofits, and electric vehicle incentives. Then spent $30M+ on anti-carbon-tax stickers.

• $3 billion in cap-and-trade revenue eliminated overnightsource
• No replacement climate plan for 2+ yearssource
• Cancelled $2.7B in green programs (EV rebates, retrofits, transit)source

“$231M Penalty, Sovereign Risk Warning”

Ontario paid $231M in cancellation penalties. The government's own documents acknowledged this created "sovereign risk" — making future investors wary of Ontario contracts. The cancelled projects would have generated clean energy for decades.

• $231M in taxpayer-funded contract cancellation penaltiessource
• Government acknowledged "sovereign risk" to future investmentsource
• Cancelled projects included community-owned wind and solarsource

“$5K for Children Who Need $80K”

The "reformed" program offered $5,000/year per child when evidence-based therapy costs $60-80K/year. Children with severe autism cannot access meaningful treatment, and 85,000+ remain waitlisted.

• $5,000/year funding for therapy that costs $60-80K/yearsource
• 85,000+ children registered, with only ~23% receiving core clinical servicessource
• Parents forced to sell homes, go into debt for private therapysource

“From Moratorium to Full Elimination”

Three-phase escalation: moratorium on new sites (2023), legislated closures via Bill 223 (2024), then defunding of all remaining provincial sites (March 2026). When complete, no provincially funded supervised consumption will exist in Ontario — during a crisis that killed 2,231 Ontarians in 2024 alone.

• 2,231 Ontarians died from opioid toxicity in 2024; peak was 2,880 in 2021source
• Bill 223 closed 10 of 17 sites via 200m school buffer zone (Dec 2024)source
• All 7 remaining provincial sites defunded with 90-day wind-down (March 2026)source

“Developer Override Powers”

Allowing mayors to veto city council decisions and pass "provincial priority" bylaws with just 1/3 of council. Removes local democratic control over development.

• Powers initially granted only to Toronto and Ottawa mayors under Bill 3 (2022)source
• One-third override means 8 of 25 councillors can impose provincial agendasource
• Enables development without proper community consultationsource

“Eliminating Democratic Representation”

Cut 22 council seats mid-election with no consultation. When the court struck it down, Ford threatened the Notwithstanding Clause — the first time it was used in Ontario to override municipal democracy.

• Bill 5 cut Toronto council from 47 to 25 seats while the 2018 municipal election was already underwaysource
• Ontario Superior Court ruled the mid-election change violated candidates' freedom of expressionsource
• Ford invoked the Notwithstanding Clause (Section 33) to override the court ruling — unprecedented in Ontariosource

“Partisan Appointees, 50,000+ Case Backlog”

The government appointed unqualified adjudicators with PC connections while the LTB backlog grew to 50,000+ cases. Tenants wait 7-10 months for hearings while landlords can evict through "renovictions" with minimal oversight.

• LTB backlog grew from ~20,000 to 50,000+ casessource
• Average wait time: 7-10 months for a hearingsource
• Adjudicators appointed through patronage, not meritsource

“Overriding Municipal Safety Decisions”

Province orders removal of Toronto bike lanes and requires provincial approval for future installations — overriding city council decisions about its own streets. Court rules it breaches the Charter.

• Province's own commissioned CIMA+ report found bike lane removal could increase collisions by up to 54%source
• Court ruled removing protected bike lanes breaches the Charter of Rightssource
• Bill 212 requires any Ontario municipality to get provincial approval before adding bike lanes that remove a vehicle lanesource

“$13M to Bankrupt Founders, Zero Accountability”

Jake's House received $13M+ in government funding despite co-founders' 2019 bankruptcy, 22 non-compliance findings, and years of governance warnings. When the flagship facility collapsed into receivership, 27 disabled adults and 5 seniors were displaced. Now the second SDF recipient under OPP anti-rackets investigation.

• Co-founders declared personally bankrupt in 2019 while receiving millionssource
• 22 areas of non-compliance found in November 2022 MCCSS inspectionsource
• 27 adults with developmental disabilities displaced when Lucan facility collapsedsource

“Expropriating City Land by Cabinet Order”

Bill 5's SEZ mechanism allows cabinet to exempt any project from any provincial law, regulation, or municipal bylaw — no legislative vote required. Applied to Billy Bishop, it bypasses the tripartite agreement that requires consent of all three landowners (city ~20%, PortsToronto ~78%, Transport Canada ~2%) and overrides noise, runway, and jet restrictions.

• Bill 5 (S.O. 2025, c. 4, Sched. 9) lets cabinet exempt projects from any provincial or municipal law by regulationsource
• Tripartite agreement (1983) requires consent of all three parties; province is seizing city's ~20% stake unilaterallysource
• Chow: "Unilateral action to grab city land without consulting Torontonians is not acceptable"source