Doug Ford has been elected Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives with a promise to make life better for ordinary people. He has made a career out of attacking out-of-touch elites who run the government for the benefit of insiders and their cronies.

We agree with Doug Ford – life has gotten worse for working class people while those at the top have made out like bandits. The question is: will Doug Ford’s policies make life better for us?

Will Ford stand up for minimum wage workers under attack by bully bosses? So far, he has not said anything about bosses who are taking away paid breaks, tips, and shifts from low income workers who got a raise. But he has said he is opposed to raising the minimum wage to $15.

Will Ford stand up for public services like health care and education? He has not released a detailed election platform yet but he has given us an idea where he stands. If elected Premier, he has repeatedly promised to cut billions of dollars in spending. We have seen this before – cuts to programs and services that hurt working class people all in the name of “balanced budgets”. We won’t be fooled again.

Is Ford going to get rid of backroom politics and oppose the elites on Bay St and at Queen’s Park? Doug inherited his fortune and launched a career in politics and in business by using his daddy’s rich buddies to help him out. Doug is a child of the establishment.

Is Ford really a new kind of politician? Curiously, Ford has sought the support of the far religious right who have opposed rights for folks who identify as LGBTQ and a woman’s right to choose. He has formed a coalition with some of the most nasty and reactionary elements of the social conservative movement who would like to turn back the clock on hard fought battles for justice of yesterday.

But we know there is a real alternative to the agenda of the elites and we know it’s not the alternative Doug Ford is offering. The alternative is decent work for all. The alternative is strong public services and higher taxes on the rich and big corporations. The alternative will come from us. It will not come from an out-of-touch millionaire from a family with deep ties to the political elite at Queen’s Park.

To join the alternative, register for the Fight for $15 and Fairness Provincial Strategy Meeting on March 23 and 24. We Are Oshawa will be providing car pooling for up to 12 people on both days. If you can’t make it to the provincial strategy meeting, join us for our AGM on April 8 at 2PM. We are meeting in room 217 at 61 Charles St in Oshawa.