Ford prefers legal drama over real leadership

September 14, 2018

TORONTO — Green Party of Ontario Leader, Mike Schreiner, released the following statement in response to the government's filing of legal arguments in the carbon tax lawsuit:

“The Premier wasn’t elected to waste taxpayer money on frivolous lawsuits and petty political battles.

I’m appalled by the money Premier Ford is wasting on this hopeless lawsuit and by the hypocrisy of using the courts to challenge a law passed by the democratically elected federal government.

Nearly all legal experts agree that a case against the federal carbon price is doomed. Ottawa has the authority to enact taxes and institute legislation aimed at reducing pollution.

The Premier is doing real damage to Ontario’s economy—ripping up contracts, cancelling energy efficiency programs and creating chaos at Queen’s Park. He should be focused on reversing the single largest one month job loss in a decade instead of petty political battles with the federal government and the City of Toronto.

Premier Ford continues to have misplaced priorities. Rather than creating jobs in the global clean economy – now estimated at $26 trillion – he prefers to embroil the province in wasteful legal battles to defend his campaign slogans.

The best performing economies in Canada, the US and around the world have a price on pollution.

And perhaps worst of all, the Premier is burning bridges with Ottawa and Toronto just so that he can appear tough.

The Premier must put the people before his petty political battles. It’s time for the Premier to end these wasteful lawsuits and focus on the issues that people need addressed .”

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