Premier Pillai needs to release details of MOU with Ontario’s Doug Ford – Yukon NDP

WHITEHORSE, YT — The Yukon NDP is calling on Premier Ranj Pillai to release the details of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) he signed with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Premier Pillai signed an MOU on housing with Premier Ford last week. No details have since been released about what this MOU is supposed to do for Yukoners.

“Looking at Doug Ford’s track record in his province about affordability and housing, Yukoners are concerned that the Liberals are asking Ford’s conservative government for best practices. This MOU should be made public immediately. Yukoners deserve to know what kind of secret deal the Premier is making with Ford’s conservative government,” Yukon NDP Leader Kate White said.

The government’s release also mentions further “opportunities for collaboration” in the fields of health-care and the labour force.

“Doug Ford’s Conservative government has made life more difficult for many Ontarians. He’s privatizing health-care, selling off green space to private investors, giving millions of public dollars to luxury spas instead of investing in school and public healthcare,” White stated.

“Under his government, hundreds of seniors ve hadied of COVID, dehydration, starvation, and neglect in private, for-profit seniors’ homes. Doug Ford’s track record should be avoided at all costs, not imported to the Yukon.”

A recently released survey from public opinion experts Angus Reid showed more than 83 per cent of Ontarians felt Ford was doing a poor or a very poor job of dealing with housing affordability. The numbers were similar when Ontarians were asked how they felt about Ford’s handling of the cost of living and health-care.

“Premier Pillai needs to release the details of the Memorandum of Understanding to the public and reassure Yukoners that this government doesn’t intend to sell off the Yukon piece-by-piece to Ontario investors,” White added.

Yukoners expect accountability and transparency from their government. A secret MOU with Doug Ford is anything but that.

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