A province-wide protest is happening this weekend for Ontarians upset with Premier Doug Ford’s administration.
Demonstrators will hit the streets in various municipalities Saturday afternoon to voice their frustrations with the premier and his team.
Events like the one planned for this weekend are common, with the latest “Fight Ford” protest seeing many gather outside of Hamilton City Hall last month.
This weekend, 55 communities across Ontario have signed up to participate, including Brantford, Burlington, Guelph, Hamilton, Oakville, St. Catharines, and Waterdown in the Golden Horseshoe.
Main issues for the demonstrators include cuts to OSAP funding by the Ford government and more recently an omnibus bill that passed through the legislature – a collection of several individual bills bundled into one vote.
“I’m there for mostly education – I’m a high school science teacher, and I see how rough it is on the inside,” said Kelly Pearce, a Dundas resident who attended one of the protests in the Golden Horseshoe. “I’m also there for the environment because we can see that all around us, so we need to preserve our greenbelt, our beautiful farming, our wetlands.”
The Conservative Party’s Bill 97 included 17 schedules addressing issues from conservation to changes in the province’s Freedom of Information Act.
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The bill was approved by Ontario’s legislature with a vote of 57 to 33 after a late-night session Wednesday.
“We’re duplicating exactly what the federal government is doing,” said Ford. “We’re duplicating exactly what the federal government has done for 15 years that he knows.”
“This right to know through freedom of information laws is absolutely critical and despite what the premier is saying and his government, no other province and even the federal government has anything like this – as restrictive as this,” said NDP and Ontario opposition leader Marit Stiles. “So it’s really going to be a terrible day for democracy in Ontario and it’s a bad day for taxpayers because you will be losing some of the accountability and transparency.”
Premier Ford was also recently criticized over purchasing a $28 million private jet which he claims has been returned to Bombardier.
If you’re planning on attending Saturday’s protest, make sure you’re ready for rain based on forecasts.
The start times vary from as early as 9 a. m. to as late as 2 p. m.
You can find more details on the Protesting Doug Ford official website here.
WATCH MORE: Protesters rally against Doug Ford in St. Catharines during provincewide day of action
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