QUEEN’S PARK — As Doug Ford attacks Ontario’s Auditor General for raising crucial questions about the Ford government’s COVID-19 response, here’s what he and his team used to say about the same Auditor they’re attacking today:
Doug Ford, Sept. 25, 2018
- “Unlike the Liberals, we respect the Auditor General. We respect working with the Auditor General.”
Hansard link
Christine Elliott, July 18, 2018
- “Well, first of all, let me assure the leader of the official opposition that we do support the work of the Auditor General. We do listen to what she has said... We think she is thoroughly competent. She knows what she’s doing…”
Hansard link
Steve Clark, now Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Oct. 24, 2017
- “Our independent officers of the Legislature exist to provide the public with unbiased reports and recommendations that rise above the politics of this place, and I find it disgusting that the government would risk eroding the confidence and trust in those officers because they fear taking an electoral hit.”
Hansard link
Lisa MacLeod, praising the AG’s report on emergency management, Dec. 6, 2017
- “Ms. Lysyk plays an essential role in holding our government accountable. Her work should be valued and commended, not disregarded and demeaned as the government has done in the past.”
Link - Ontario PC response to the 2017 Auditor General report
“This government’s choices have hurt people, and attacking the auditor doesn’t change that,” said NDP Ethics and Accountability critic Taras Natyshak.