Last summer, I was unilaterally removed from the governing PC Party caucus by Premier Doug Ford for voting against Bill 195, The Reopening Ontario Act, (better referred to as the “Lockdown Act”). I called Bill 195 an “unnecessary overreach” that gave Doug Ford the unilateral ability to maintain emergency powers over Ontarians for a year, without the province being in a State of Emergency, and without a debate or vote in the legislature by MPPs.
The use of emergency powers under Bill 195 was set to expire on July 21st, 2021 – one year after the legislation was passed. However, the Ford PC government had other plans.
On Thursday May 20th, 2021, Ford summoned the media to announce that Ontario would “reopen” sometime in the future. Ford referred to his vacuous announcement as a “plan” even though it failed to indicate when, if ever, life in Ontario would return to normal. Instead, Ford’s “plan” followed the approach of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau -linking vaccine rates in Ontario to a limited return of some everyday activities.
At the same time Ford was holding his press conference, his Solicitor General, Sylvia Jones, tabled Government Motion 111 at the legislature. Motion 111 attempted to ram through an extension of Ford’s use of extraordinary emergency powers under Bill 195, for seven more months – until December!
PC government MPPs tried to introduce and pass their lockdown-extension motion:
- in one day without advance notice;
- right before the long weekend;
- two months before the current use of emergency powers were set to expire;and
- by using an unrecorded voice vote so that the names of PC MPPs would not be listed in the official minutes of the debate.
I was joined by a few other MPPs in opposing the unrecorded voice vote. This forced PC MPPs to have to vote – on the record – in favour of the motion, ten days later.
Government Motion 111 was an underhanded attempt by the PC government to ram through an extension of emergency powers while everyone was distracted by Ford’s announcement. It is an example of how the Ford PC government’s rhetoric doesn’t match their decision making and is a further indication that our provincial government doesn’t intend to end these lockdown measures any time soon.
Belinda Karahalios
MPP Cambridge, North Dumfries & North Brant
