Doug Ford shows some Pride on first anniversary as Ontario's premier
Article content
On the anniversary of his first year at the helm of Ontario, Premier Doug Ford found himself defending the teaching of gender identity to Grade 8 students and confirming he will attend some Pride events this month.
As one reporter pointed out, Ford called gender identity teachings “liberal ideology” when he was campaigning for the leadership of his party last year and promised a review of the sex ed curriculum.
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Doug Ford shows some Pride on first anniversary as Ontario's premier Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“When we sat down, the Minister of Education with our cabinet, we felt that Grade 8 was an appropriate time to talk about that,” Ford said Friday. “And for now we’re going to leave that alone as we move forward. That’s what we felt was pretty reasonable.”
The Premier was also asked about his refusal to attend the Pride Parade.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Ford said he will attend some Pride month events, but not the parade because organizers refuse to allow uniformed police officers to participate.
“I have no problem going to Pride events at all — matter of fact I look forward to it,” Ford said. “I think it’s a real boost to the economy and I think it’s great for people to gather and I wish everyone all the best on Pride.”
The two issues were raised by reporters during a media conference Ford held Friday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his government’s big election win.
The PCs released a list of “225 accomplishments” achieved during that first year, including 117 sitting days in the Legislature and the passing of 20 major pieces of legislation.
While Ford named his government’s first budget as the highlight, he mentioned one of his personal favourites was scrapping Drive Clean.
“We have accomplished more in one year than most governments achieve in their whole mandate,” Ford said.
The Premier swatted away questions about a possible cabinet shuffle as the government moves ahead but did not flatly deny the possibility.
The government isn’t scheduled to return to the legislature until Oct. 28, but Ford said he and the MPPs won’t be idle.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Liberal Leader John Fraser have said Ford may be taking an extra long break in reaction to the upcoming federal election, trying to stay out of trouble so he doesn’t hurt Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s chance of defeating Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.
“Right from the get go I said I’m not going to get involved with the federal election,” Ford said.
Trudeau’s “tactics” might be to drag him into the federal campaign — he’s been vocal in his criticism of some of the Premier’s decisions — but Ford said he’s still staying out.
His political opposition has been highly critical of Ford’s first year in office, saying his priorities have not been those of the average Ontarian.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.