Ontario Premier Doug Ford will hold his first press conference in two weeks Monday morning as his government looks to try to turn the tide after weeks of questions about transparency and the short-lived private jet purchase.
In mid-April, the government confirmed it had bought a second-hand Challenger 650, citing the Prime Minister’s cross-country travel in the United States and across the country as the reason.
But just two days later, in the face of massive backlash, Ontario sold the plane to Bombardier for $28.9 million.
A day after confirming that the plane had been resold, Ford appeared at a press conference in Ottawa and, a day after that, took part in an “informal meeting” with reporters at Queen’s Park.
Since then, as the government passed laws to crack down on freedom of information and Ford was forced to apologize for personal comments about a political opponent, his team has kept him out of press conferences or rifts.
Several events, including an “exclusive, members-only” breakfast at the Albany Club, have not been advertised at all as the government unveiled plans for a new memorial at Queen’s Park behind closed doors.
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That will change on Monday morning, as a host of ministers hold a series of events on the same day politicians return to Queen’s Park after a week’s break.
The stream of announcements begins with Emergency Preparedness and Response Minister Jill Dunlop holding a briefing at the government’s communications center at 8:30 a.m. Just over two hours later, attorney general Michael Kerzner has an announcement in Toronto.
At about 12:30 p.m. — around the time reporters are normally at Queen’s Park to ask questions of government members — Ford is scheduled to hold his press conference, along with Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
The flurry of announcements comes as the government tries to restore order after weeks of bruising.
She initially faced heat for a crackdown on transparency by exempting the prime minister, his cabinet and their staff from all freedom of information requests, a move that is likely to kill a court order for Ford to hand over cellphone records.
The attorney general and prime minister then spent a week trying to explain how provincial government-run prisons had lost more than 150 inmates over the past five years.
All this before the government confirmed it had bought a private jet and then quickly sold it.
Polls released by Liaison Strategies suggested the stories had hurt Ford, with the Progressive Conservatives trailing the leaderless Liberals in the polls.
Asked about plane costs on Friday – and when the documents to prove them would be released – Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy dismissed the question.
“We are going through a process. As the process continues, we will be transparent. This is ongoing,” he said.
“But you know what, we’ve moved on. The premier was very adamant that he listened to the people of Ontario.”
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