Multiple senior Liberal insiders, including executive council members, said frustration has been mounting for weeks over the party’s failure to release rules, timelines or basic parameters for the leadership contest that will choose Bonnie Crombie’s successor.
While Premier Doug Ford has ruled out a cabinet shuffle this winter, staffing changes are still rippling through Queen’s Park, with key departures and new arrivals inside the Premier’s Office, the finance minister’s team and the Progressive Conservative Party.
In a letter sent to Ford this Friday, Manitoba Opposition Leader Obby Khan appealed to the premier as a “fellow Progressive Conservative Leader,” urging him to reconsider removing the Manitoba-made whisky from Ontario liquor stores.
When asked about what has changed this year to avoid recurring into the same issues that caused its closure, Fedeli said:
“They never invested in the Northlander. They never had good times for departures. And the AG ran a full study on it. The AG found their math was all false, they claimed they would save 250M a year, when actually she proved it would cost them 800M,” Fedeli said.
“Every drop of Crown Royal sold in Canada is made in Gimli, Manitoba,” said Toronto Conservative MP Roman Baber, who previously served as an Ontario PC MPP. “But think of the harm that Doug’s message is doing to Ontario as a potential place to invest or start a business.”
According to the province, the underwater line would deliver more capacity than other options, be less vulnerable to extreme weather events such as flooding or ice storms, and reduce the need for additional upgrades elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area. The government estimates it could avoid $100 million to $300 million in future bulk system reinforcements.
