On Aug. 30, Doug Ford announced he would be forcing universities to adopt an Orwellian "free speech" policy. This is an attack on freedom of speech and aims to crack down on student protests. Under this new policy, student activists will face discipline and possible expulsion for simply protesting racist speakers on campus. This includes our own Socialist Fightback activists.
On August 30, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he will force all universities and colleges in Ontario to enforce a so-called “free speech policy”. Let us be very clear: this ‘“free speech policy” is in reality an anti-protest law; a muzzle for students who are rightly protesting fascists and racists on campus. This Orwellian doublespeak means that Ford will be defending the “free speech” of his right-wing friends, while at the same time stripping that same right away from students and workers on campus.
On Wednesday, September 5, thousands of commuters from York Region learned that the VIVA Purple and Orange routes will no longer be going to York University. Students will now be forced to either take a YRT bus to Pioneer Village Station and walk 20 minutes to campus, or take the VIVA Orange to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and pay an additional $3.25 to take the subway to York University station. For a student who commutes 5 days a week, this means taking a less time efficient route, and spending an additional $180 a month. Some students will be required to use GO bus services due to these service changes, costing them upwards of an additional $5 per trip, or $400 of additional travel expenses per month. According to The Toronto Star, this change is the result of a binding agreement made by York Region Council and the TTC in 2009. The purpose of this was to avoid “duplication of services”, under the assumption that by the time the TTC subway extension was completed, the various regional transit systems (TTC, YRT/VIVA, Zum) would be integrated under one fare system. This is clearly not the case today.
Premier Doug Ford has announced that he will go ahead with his plan to slash the Toronto City Council from 47 members to 25, defying the recent court ruling which declared his move unconstitutional by invoking the “notwithstanding” clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ford’s move marks the first time in Ontario’s history that this clause has been used. While it should come as a surprise to no one that Doug Ford has little respect for democratic rights or procedural niceties, the degree to which he is willing to tear up the Charter for petty, personal vendettas against his former colleagues at city council is almost stunning. This gives us a clear glimpse into what we can expect from Ford’s attacks on the working class in the coming years: ruthless slash and burn, while running roughshod over democratic rights.
A feud has erupted between Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau over the issue of immigration. Doug Ford has used a Trump-like discourse, blaming “illegal” immigrants and asylum seekers for societal ills, claiming that, “This has resulted in a housing crisis and threats to the services that Ontario families depend on.” At the end of July, the Ford government went so far as to send a $200 million invoice to the federal government. claiming costs of helping asylum seekers.
The right to strike is under attack in Ontario. On July 25, legislation was passed by a vote of 69-40 ending the strike of almost 2000 teaching assistants at York University. The Ford government, in power for only two months, has sent a message to Ontario workers that he is ready to violate their democratic right to strike in order to carry out his rotten agenda. By making an example of the teaching assistants, Ford hopes that other workers will be intimidated from going on strike themselves. If not, it won’t be long before they too face back-to-work legislation. It’s these sorts of thug tactics that workers can expect from the “People’s Premier” over the next four years.
Asylum seekers and the hypocrisy of Canadian imperialism
New defence policy: Canadian imperialism flexes its muscles
Trudeau's marijuana legalization: Seeing through the smokescreen
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