Send this page to someone via email TORONTO – Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government had barely been in power for an hour Friday before it was under attack about the perceived lack of diversity in its cabinet. Shortly before officially taking the reigns of the province, Doug Ford announced the 20 ministers tasked with helping him shepherd the new government’s agenda of fiscal restraint. But while the cabinet drew praise for enlisting members with considerable public and private sector experience, critics also noted the fact that only seven women and one visible minority currently have a seat on the front benches. Two out of three opposition parties said the makeup of the cabinet does not reflect the diversity of either the Tory caucus or the province as a whole. Story continues below advertisement Political observers also noted the lack of diversity, but said the current cabinet composition makes an effort to balance different sets of interests including regional representation and willingness to commit to the promised agenda. The Progressive Conservative party did not respond to a request for comment. Critiques of the new Tory cabinet, which features plum portfolios for Ford’s past political rivals as well as veterans of provincial and federal politics, began pouring in almost immediately after Ford delivered a speech to cheering supporters gathered outside of the legislature. Newly elected New Democrat Sarah Singh, whose party now forms the official Opposition in the legislature, said the image of the predominantly male, white cabinet sends a disheartening message for those hoping to feel supported by the Ford administration. “For me as a young woman of colour, and I’m sure for many others across this province, they’re not seeing themselves reflected in the decisions that were made today,” Singh said after extending her congratulations to the newly minted ministers. Singh also criticized Ford’s decision to assign the Indigenous affairs portfolio to a minister who’s already overseeing the major files of energy and northern affairs. Story continues below advertisement That move, Singh said, suggests reconciliation with Indigenous residents will be a lower priority than it has been under past regimes. Similar concerns emerged from the camp of the Green party, whose leader Mike Schreiner made history in the June 7 election by being the first person elected to the house under his party’s banner. Schreiner issued a statement lauding the depth of talent in the cabinet ranks, but lamenting that diversity seemed only confined to the skill sets on display. He noted that having only one member of a visible minority, Seniors and Accessibility Minister Raymond Cho, does not adequately represent four million Ontarians who identify as belonging to a minority group. Schreiner also took aim at the comparative lack of women in the upper echelon of the new government, though Ford’s two primary leadership rivals – Christine Elliott and Caroline Mulroney – were assigned the prestigious titles of health minister and attorney general respectively. Story continues below advertisement “All governments should strive for gender parity, so it is unfortunate that just seven of the 21 ministers named today are women,” he said. “This is made more troubling by the fact that you have reduced the Ministry of the Status of Women to a non-portfolio responsibility and unnecessarily changed the name to ‘women’s issues.”‘ Social media teemed with criticisms of the new cabinet, with hashtags such as #OnGovtSoWhite decrying the lack of racial diversity gaining the most prominence. Political observers said Ford’s choices for high office send a message about where his governing priorities lie. Andrea Lawlor, a political science professor at Western University’s King’s University College, said the relatively homogeneous cabinet was formed from the ranks of a caucus rife with candidates from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The group does feature members from all across the province, however, and Lawlor said Ford’s focus on veteran legislators may be an attempt to suggest that a new government is not necessarily the same as an inexperienced one. “I don’t think it’s an oversight, I think it’s a notable absence,” she said. “I think it suggests that, in an attempt to keep his cabinet as small or efficient as possible, he was … going for the people who he knows will present his agenda and who he knows will have the experience to perhaps balance the fact that he is not only a new premier but a new (member of the provincial legislature) MPP.” Story continues below advertisement Rob Leone, a former Conservative member of the Ontario legislature, agreed that Ford’s choices reflect a desire to showcase a combination of political savvy and people with skills to manage large files and organizations. Leone said he would expect to see a more diverse cabinet further into Ford’s mandate when rookie caucus members have had time to get some experience under their belts. For now, though, Leone said he sees no problem with the current cabinet configuration. “People will assess cabinets on a variety of criteria, but the one that matters most is whether a minister does his or her job well,” he said. “Our parliamentary system is about to put them to the test.”<doc-sep>Open this photo in gallery Premier-designate Doug Ford and his wife Karla arrive at Queen's Park as he prepares to be sworn in as Ontario's new Premier in Toronto on Friday, June 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Chris Young/The Canadian Press Doug Ford warned in his inaugural speech as Ontario’s Premier that his province is a troubled land of crumbling infrastructure, broken hospitals and fiscal mismanagement, where children head elsewhere to find good jobs and the privileged few have enriched themselves at the expense of most. Speaking from the front steps of Queen’s Park after he was sworn in as Ontario’s 26th premier on Friday morning, Mr. Ford pledged to return the province to prosperity by cutting taxes, curtailing government spending and protecting jobs in manufacturing. Over the past four months, the 53-year-old former Toronto councillor took over Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives and led them to government with a populist message that often took aim at the province’s elites in politics and business. Mr. Ford’s swearing-in ends 15 years of Liberal rule in Ontario and signals a major shift that could lead to skirmishes with the federal government over carbon pricing. Story continues below advertisement “Our province is at a critical juncture. We must not underestimate the gravity of this situation we face,” Mr. Ford said under a blazing sun. “We are living in an era marked by unprecedented change, great upheavals and economic instability, and following years of fiscal mismanagement, record levels of debt, and crippling interest payments, crumbling infrastructure, and a broken health-care system. Needless to say, the task before us is truly immense.” Mr. Ford named 20 members to his first cabinet on Friday, promoting his two main rivals for the Tory leadership earlier this year to senior positions. Christine Elliott, who was Ontario’s first Patient Ombudsman under Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, is his Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. Caroline Mulroney, who has a law degree from New York University and a degree in government from Harvard, was named Attorney-General and minister responsible for francophone affairs. Mr. Ford promised he will restore his province to its “rightful place” as Canada’s economic engine. However, Ontario’s economy has been growing swiftly and the unemployment rate, at 5.7 per cent, is the healthiest in nearly a generation. Much of that growth has gone to the Toronto region and Mr. Ford has focused his attention on the plight of manufacturing, which has lost more than 300,000 jobs over the past decade. Trade worries during the renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement (NAFTA) and U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to levy a tariff on Canadian-made vehicles could send Ontario’s manufacturing sector into a tailspin. After campaigning on a promise to bring back manufacturing jobs, Mr. Ford has said he will work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the NAFTA talks. The new Tory-led legislature will meet for a short summer session starting the week of July 9. Mr. Ford said his first priority is scrapping Ontario’s cap-and-trade system aimed at reducing carbon emissions. He has said he will join with Saskatchewan’s conservative Premier and battle Mr. Trudeau in the courts to stop a federal law requiring all provinces to have some form of carbon pricing in place by Jan. 1, 2019. Story continues below advertisement Ontario’s new Finance Minister, Vic Fedeli, applauded the move to dismantle cap-and-trade. Mr. Fedeli will play a key role in Mr. Ford’s government, tasked with slashing taxes on incomes, businesses and gasoline while returning Ontario to a budget surplus within four years. The Tories have also said they will find $6-billion in efficiencies without cutting any government jobs. “The first thing we need to do is open the books and the first thing Premier Ford did was announce the end of the cap-and-trade tax in Ontario; I think that’s a fabulous start. Hang on for the ride, I think it’s going to be a great time,” Mr. Fedeli told reporters. Mr. Fedeli is a former mayor of North Bay and was the PC Party’s interim chief after Patrick Brown resigned as leader in January amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Mr. Ford’s cabinet is leaner than Ms. Wynne’s final executive council, which had 28 ministers, including the premier herself. The province’s new Official Opposition, the New Democratic Party, attacked Mr. Ford on Friday over the lack of diversity in his cabinet − Minister of Seniors and Accessibility Raymond Cho is the only visible minority. The new cabinet reflects Mr. Ford’s priorities, while also showing which of the outgoing Liberal commitments he does not intend to continue. Missing from the cabinet table will be titles including the words climate change, immigration, anti-racism, research, innovation or science. Newly elected New Democrat Sara Singh said the predominantly male, white cabinet doesn’t reflect Ontario’s diversity. She said she was also troubled by the Premier’s decision to not have a stand-alone minister of Indigenous affairs. Former federal MP Greg Rickford will hold that portfolio while also being the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines. Story continues below advertisement “A part-time minister is not good enough. … Mr. Ford’s announcements today do not signal his intention to clean up the mess the Liberal legacy has left us. It doesn’t make progress for Indigenous communities, hardworking families, women or people of colour,” Ms. Singh said. Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who represents 133 First Nations, said Mr. Rickford has a deep understanding of First Nations issues, but she expressed disappointment over the decision to leave “reconciliation” out of his title. “The most difficult thing is that it is no longer called the minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation; they’ve gone back to simply the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. That, to me, is problematic. We need reconciliation,” she said. The full cabinet of 21, including Mr. Ford, is: Doug Ford, Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Deputy Premier Story continues below advertisement Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board. Raymond Cho, Minister of Seniors and Accessibility Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Vic Fedeli, Minister of Finance and Chair of Cabinet Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Story continues below advertisement Sylvia Jones, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues Monte McNaughton, Minister of Infrastructure Caroline Mulroney, Attorney-General and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Minister of Indigenous Affairs Story continues below advertisement Laurie Scott, Minister of Labour Todd Smith, Minister of Government and Consumer Services, and Government House Leader Lisa Thompson, Minister of Education Michael Tibollo, Minister of Community, Safety and Correctional Services Jim Wilson, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade John Yakabuski, Minister of Transportation Jeff Yurek, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry<doc-sep>Mr Filion says he sees similarities between the two politicians in the "need for attention, the us versus them [mentality], the inability to see things from anyone else's perspective, the feeding of the [political] base, the antagonism towards anyone who says anything negative about them".<doc-sep>
Who Premier Doug Ford put in key portfolios, as well as which ministries he chose to eliminate or fold into others, signals the new government's priorities, say supporters and critics alike. Janet Ecker is a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister who served from 1995 to 2003, during which time she took on roles as minister of finance and minister of education. "Certainly in the early days and on the critical issues — for example the hydro file — you're going to see the premier's office is going to be very hands on," say Ecker. She applauds the choice of Caroline Mulroney as attorney general and Christine Elliott as minister of health and long-term care — important, high-profile roles for former Ford leadership rivals. Just 1 visible minority "It was a nice touch to have [Elliot] as deputy premier, because her style and temperament looks like it's very different from the premier's, so that will be a good balance and good for the government," says Ecker. Christine Elliott, former contender for the Ontario PC Leadership, was chosen as minister of health and long-term care and deputy premier. (Canadian Press) "The other thing about that legislature, you've got so many newbies, new people — new women, new people from multicultural backgrounds. So there's the opportunity to change the culture of that house." Ontario's new Progressive Conservative government will have a cabinet of 21 — that's seven fewer ministers than the previous Liberal government under Kathleen Wynne. Of those ministers, 14 are men and seven are women. Only one, however, is a visible minority — Raymond Cho, who was sworn in as the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. NDP MPP-elect Sara Singh was one of those criticizing the lack of diversity in Premier Ford's inner circle. 'Not seeing themselves reflected' "For me, as a young woman of colour, and I'm sure for many other across this province, they are not seeing themselves reflected in the decisions that were made," says Singh. She also criticized Ford for collapsing some ministries. For example, Child and Youth Services, Community and Social Services and Women's Issues were all merged into one. Sara Singh, NDP MPP-elect, discusses the concerns the NDP has about which ministries the Ontario Premier has downgraded during a press conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on Friday. (Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press) Singh says that sends a big signal about which ministries would be favoured and which would have to deal with cuts. "How does it show that Mr. Ford is prioritizing these issues?" asked Singh, noting that Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Minister of Indigenous Affairs all fall under one minister. "A part-time minister in indigenous relations and reconciliation is not good enough." Wheels in motion Premier Ford also announced the names of parliamentary assistants, each of whom will hold special responsibilities supporting his cabinet ministers. Laure Paquette, associate professor of political science at Lakehead University, says that the premier would appoint the ministers' chiefs of staff and as well as senior bureaucrats and deputy ministers is a clear signal. "Those are indications that there's going to be a strong central figure," she says, adding the major portfolio all predictably went to Ford's challengers for party leadership. "The three biggies — attorney general, finance and health — those are all Red Tories, those are all progressives," says Paquette. MPPs will be called back on July 11 to elect a speaker, but Ford has already set the wheels in motion on several of his campaign promises. Scrapping the cap-and-trade system is first on his agenda, followed by a line-by-line audit of government spending in order to eliminate $6 billion in waste without cutting jobs. The throne speech is scheduled for July 12.