TORONTO – A member of Premier Doug Ford‘s caucus is criticizing the government’s decisions to cancel a planned French-language university and scrap the office of the French-language services commissioner.
Amanda Simard, who represents the mainly French-speaking riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, calls the moves “extremely disappointing.”
In a Facebook post Wednesday evening, the rookie MPP says she had worked internally to have the decisions reversed, including asking Ford himself to reconsider, but was unsuccessful.
Ford’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government announced the plans last week, drawing criticism from some of Ontario’s 600,000 francophones, as well as Quebec’s political class, media pundits and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Simard, who also acts as the parliamentary secretary to the minister for francophone affairs, says she only learned of the government’s decision a few minutes before the official announcement.