Did the Ford government listen to minorities in the province?
Share November 5, 2020 4:59 p.m. Updated at 5:10 p.m. Share Did the Ford government listen to minorities in the province?
Émilie Pelletier Local Journalism Initiative – The Law The pandemic has exacerbated the problems of minority groups around the world, and Ontario has not been spared. In its annual budget, unveiled Thursday, does the Ford government show that it has listened to them? The Law has spotted and scrutinized the “new investments” which target these communities.
First, the francophones. The word “francophone” is mentioned 24 times in the 260-page budget document from the Ontario Minister of Finance.
This is 21 times more than in the first budget tabled by the Ford government in 2018. But are Francophones more represented there this time around?
Yes, says Minister of Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney. “I created a Francophone ministerial committee, and we worked for several weeks at the start of the pandemic to make recommendations to our government,” she recalls, stressing that Francophones were at the center of her work “in as a member of the Ontario Economic Recovery Committee ”.
In fact, the Progressive Conservative government will have allocated $ 7.1 million to Francophone Affairs in 2020-2021, that is, $ 1.1 million more than what the previous Liberal government offered, and $ 2.1 million more than its own funding granted in 2019-2020.
Minister Mulroney told Law that her government has set up a $ 2 million relief fund for francophone not-for-profit organizations in the province, but this amount is nowhere indicated in the Minister's budget. Finances.
Ontario Minister of Francophone Affairs, Caroline Mulroney Patrick Woodbury, Archives Le Droit
Even if the government does not commit to promising new funding for Franco-Ontarians, Ms. Mulroney points out that several measures taken for the entire population will, by default, help Francophones.
New funding for black youth
The Minister of Finance claims to have listened to the community about the dire needs of the black community.
It promises an additional investment of $ 60 million over three years, starting in 2020-2021, in the Action Plan for Black Youth.
These funds will double the program's core funding and create “a new stream of economic empowerment that will help black youth achieve social and economic success.”
It is the only program that directly targets black Ontarians in the Progressive Conservative government's 2020-21 Budget.
Aboriginal
The Department of Finance has included First Nations communities in several places in its budget, but only one investment directly concerns them.
In June, the government announced that it would provide up to $ 10 million to help Indigenous small and medium businesses struggling with the pandemic. The loans, up to $ 50,000, are paid to businesses that cannot benefit from federal and provincial assistance.
NDP MP Sol Mamakwa, the only First Nations member to sit in the Ontario legislature, said earlier this week, in an interview with Le Droit , that Doug Ford's government must invest more in communities First Nations of the province.
He also deplored the lack of consultation between the government and indigenous communities when making decisions.
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