What to know
- Stiles was ejected from question period after calling the government “corrupt,” saying she refused to withdraw the comment amid concerns over the Skills Development Fund.
- She says Ontario’s ongoing employment crisis makes accountability even more urgent.
- The NDP leader also clashed with Ford in a separate heated exchange, accusing him of bullying and insisting she’s “not afraid of him.”
- While Stiles welcomes plans to boost job training, she says her “patience has run out,” urging the government to move beyond political stunts and deliver real solutions for Ontarians.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles is speaking out about impasses with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, issues in the province and hopes for the future, after a tumultuous week for her at Queen’s Park.
Last week, Stiles was removed from question period at the Legislative Assembly, after calling Ford’s government “corrupt” and getting into a heated exchange with the premier.
Stiles made the comment while asking the government about its controversial Skills Development Fund, after the province’s auditor general found Labour Minister David Piccini’s office was allegedly involved in selecting awarded applicants under the $2.5-billion project, despite bureaucrats’ advice.
“It is the donors, and the lobbyists that are connected to this government. It is the strip clubs and the numbered companies. It is the endless grift of a anti-democratic, and yes, corrupt government,” Stiles said during question period.
After the declaration, Speaker Donna Skelly asked her to withdraw the comment, to which the opposition leader refused and was then asked to leave.
Speaking with Now Toronto on Thursday, Stiles doubled down on her comments, saying that while she would normally listen to the speaker and withdraw it in other situations, this time she thought it was important to stand on business.
“There’s lots of things you can’t say in the legislature…one of the words you can’t say is corrupt, you can’t also call somebody a liar. And when you do that, the speaker will say, ‘OK, well, withdraw.’ But in that moment, and usually I go, ‘Yeah, OK, withdraw.’ But this time I thought, you know, no, I’ve been asking these questions for almost six weeks now,” she said.
Ontario is currently going through an employment crisis, which has coincided with uncertainty related to trade and tariffs imposed by the U.S., according to Statistics Canada. The province has faced significant monthly declines in its employment rates, although unemployment fell by 0.3 per cent in October reaching 7.6 per cent.
The issue has been disproportionately affecting youth, with unemployment rates for those between 15 and 24 years old rising to 17.8 per cent in September, according to Ontario’s latest Labour market report.
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Stiles acknowledges that this is a concerning time for Ontario residents, which is why she decided to keep pushing for action regarding the auditor’s report.
“People want their government working for them, not for their friends. So, I really thought it was a moment to call it out, and I’ve been asking the government to do better and for that minister to resign. They won’t do it. So, I just said, ‘You know what? This time you’re gonna have to walk me out,’” she added.
On Tuesday, Stiles also filed a complaint, asking Ontario’s integrity commissioner to launch an investigation on the labour minister, alleging he has breached ethics rules based on the auditor’s findings.
FORD AND STILES ENGAGE IN HEATED DEBATE
This was not the only heated moment Stiles encountered this week.
On Monday, the opposition leader made headlines after having a heated argument with Ford during question period on Queen’s Park.
Again speaking about the Skills Development Fund, in which the premier said that she would bankrupt a lemonade stand if she was in charge, she responded by suggesting Ford “grew up with a silver spoon” in his mouth.
The premier then responded by saying Stiles would “never be premier.”
Stiles says the premier was simply being a bully, and that she won’t back down.
“He doesn’t, obviously, know much about me or my background. He doesn’t care. He’s just being mean. And that’s what happens with bullies, right? When they get cornered,” she said. “I’m 5’1, but I’ve stood up to some pretty big bullies, and I got the job that people had hired me to do, elected me to do, to stand up for them.”
The NDP leader also said she is not afraid of what the premier might do in response to her comments.
“People have said to me, ‘Is he going to come at you and sue you for calling them corrupt?’ I said, ‘You know what? Go ahead. Bring it on.’ I would just love to go to court and let him prove to me that this government is not corrupt,” she said.
“I feel like there’s a moment when you got to say, ‘You know what? I’m not afraid of you. You can insult me all you want to. I’m tough, I can handle it. I just don’t want you beating up on the other people.’”
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
Besides the viral moments with the premier, the opposition leader says Ford has been “talking about the right things” with plans to offer training and increase job opportunities for people in the province. But the opposition leader says she would like to see more action taken.
“He eats ice cream [for the] camera or whatever, but I think he’s got a really important job. It’s a really big job, and I will work with him and try to make sure he does the right things,” she said.
“My patience has run out. And I think when I go around the province, especially since the election, it really makes it really clear that we need somebody, and we need a solution…we got to stop with the stunts and actually get real right now and stop wasting people’s money.”
Stiles also hopes that her new bold attitude has inspired some Ontarians to restore their hope for change.
“Fifty-five per cent of people didn’t vote, right? And that tells me that people are like, ‘It doesn’t matter,’ right? Because everybody’s the same, or he’s going to get elected anyways, or nobody else is going to do anything any different,” she said.
“I think what’s happened in the last few weeks is they’ve seen somebody fighting for them, I hope. And maybe they realize it doesn’t have to be like this.”
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