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Ontario Premier Doug Ford was sent a can of mushroom gravy to remind him of mushrooming cost of his office.
The gesture served as a not-so-subtle reminder of the ‘gravy train’ spending Ford’s late-brother Rob Ford often criticized during his successful bid for mayor of Toronto.
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Rob cruised to victory in 2010 with a campaign promise to ‘stop the gravy train,’ implying loads of taxpayer dollars, were being misspent at city hall.
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Liberal Parliamentary Leader John Fraser passed along the can of gravy in a bag at the province’s legislature in Queen’s Park via a Legislative Page during question period on April 9.
“He didn’t quite get it,” Fraser said in a scrum, referring to Ford, per CTV. “I had to explain it. But he should get it, and I think he should know because, to my recollection, I think the premier didn’t quite invent the gravy train, but he certainly revived it over his career.”
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The size and cost of Ford’s office has grown in the past five years. The number of Ford’s staff members on the province’s Sunshine List, those who earn more than $100,000 a year has risen from 20 to 48 since 2019.
The 48 staff members earned a salary of close to $7 million in 2023, up from almost $3 million in 2019, Global reports. Ford has the most expensive Premier’s Office in provincial history, according to the news outlet.
“I did that to remind him that he more than doubled the staff in his office to 48 people who are all on the Sunshine List, all of whom make more than the median family income in Ontario,” Fraser said, adding: “I think that’s obscene.”
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The median household income in Ontario is $74,260 before taxes, according to CMHC.
According to the Sunshine List, Ford makes $208,974 a year, the same as it’s been since 2019. Patrick Sackville, his chief of staff, earns $324,675. Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones and Housing Minister Paul Calandra each earn $165,851.
“It was important to remind him of his own words,” Fraser noted. “What’s happening in his office and the expansion of his office is the gravy train.”
About 12 per cent of Canadians earned more than $100,000 in 2021, according to the latest available data.
Last month, Ontario released its Sunshine List for 2023, showing the salaries and benefits of public sector employees earning more than $100,000. There were 300,570 names on the list this year, including healthcare workers, city staff and police officers.
Ontario Power Generation, am electricity Crown corporation, made up five of the 10 highest earners on the list, which was topped by company CEO and President Kenneth Hartwick.
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