Doug Ford hands cabinet ministers mandate letters months after winning snap election
Global News
Multiple sources confirmed to Global News that mandate letters were finally delivered to cabinet ministers this week, giving each member of Ford’s top team specific instructions.
Months after winning a third consecutive majority mandate under a promise to “protect Ontario” from economic war with the United States, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has outlined how he expects his inner circle to deliver the pledge.
Multiple sources confirmed to Global News that mandate letters were finally delivered to cabinet ministers this week, giving each member of Ford’s top team specific instructions.
The wait for mandate letters meant ministers did not have codified instructions during the first sitting of the new parliament, leaving some smaller departments struggling with a lack of legislative direction.
Ford’s cabinet was sworn in in mid-March and, several sources told Global News, had hoped to use the summer to create policy road maps based on the mandate letters, which did not arrive.
Sources previously said a combination of the snap February election, the federal ballot and staffing changes in the premier’s policy team had all delayed the letters.
A spokesperson for the premier’s office said the ongoing trade war with the United States is at the centre of the latest mandate letters.
“As we navigate an economic crisis that threatens the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of workers, our mandate letters provide the roadmap for long-term implementation of our plan to protect Ontario,” they wrote in a statement.
“The people elected our government with a historic third majority, and we will be relentless in building critical infrastructure, keeping costs low, unlocking interprovincial free trade, supporting Ontario-made products, and cracking down on crime.”
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