Ford Government's Consolidation of Executive Powers
With
the Strong Mayors legislation the Ford government is consolidating its
executive power, expanding its police powers to implement an agenda
that is demanded by the oligopolies and by the U.S. war machine.
Through his first term Ford promised to develop the Ring of Fire to
secure the minerals
needed for electric batteries and other needs of the war industry. He
used the Freedom Convoy disruptions at the border to bring in
legislation to secure trade corridors from the north to the south and
to the U.S. and pre-emptively criminalize any force that stands against
this, particularly workers
and First Nations which do not agree to the destruction of their
territories. This restructuring turns mayors into tools of the
provincial agenda and emasculates local councils and further
disenfranchises citizens.
The fact that this legislation can be passed with no discussion amongst the people and no information as to what the "provincial priorities" are, not mentioned during the election campaign and pushed through the legislature with great haste, shows that there is nothing democratic about the so-called institutions of liberal democracy, that all that is left is police powers. Laws can be manipulated and changed at will by a government which did not even receive 20 per cent support from eligible voters. Anything which is or could be an obstruction to the anti-social pay-the-rich program of the provincial government is fair game. For example, the peoples' demand to hold private owners of long-term care homes accountable, which was made illegal through Ford's legislation that protects them from lawsuits and from responsibility. With this so-called Strong Mayors legislation, the Ford government is putting in place the means to block any opposition from municipalities to land use, resource extraction, highways, etc. with the option of arbitrarily declaring any mayor a 'strong mayor' and upending the local council's decisions at any time.
The need to expose and denounce measures like Bill 3 has
significance for all the forces across the country who are fighting for
control over their lives and against measures like this that strengthen
the rule of the elite and police powers.
A Reader in Sudbury
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 25 - October 4, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520256.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca