Ontario Premier, other elected officials attend CTOA holiday party
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Transport Prabmeet Sarkaria were among many elected officials who attended the Canadian Truck Operators Association (CTOA) Holiday and Industry Appreciation Event on the weekend.
Nearly 2,000 people attended, including truck drivers, owner-operators, fleet operators and others. Additional elected officials included Member of Parliament Iqwinder Gaheer, MPP Hardeep Grewal, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, members of Brampton City Council, Ontario Liberal MPP Adil Shamji, and Ontario NDP Deputy Leader MPP Doly Begum.
“Canada’s supply chain relies on real people, drivers who work long hours, often far from home, to ensure food, medicine, and essential goods reach communities across the country,” CTOA spokesman Tejpreet Dulat, said in a news release. “Their contribution deserves respect, dignity, and professional recognition.”
Ford spoke at the event, saying: “I just want to say thank you, thank you for everything you do for Ontario. Without the trucking sector, goods don’t move from Point A to Point B. You are the backbone of our economy, the backbone of our infrastructure, healthcare, everything. It’s the hardworking men and women in trucking who keep our economy going, and we are incredibly grateful.”
“It’s incredible to see so many people from the trucking industry come together today for such a successful event,” added Sarkaria, the province’s transport minister. “Trucking is the backbone of everything we rely on every single day. It is our responsibility as elected officials to support this industry, and I know everyone here agrees that safety must always come first.”
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Are you kidding me this organization represents companies that are operating illegally so the with the premier attending their party he’s legitimizing the way they are doing business, maybe we all should operate this way … I wonder how tax revenue both levels of government will lose which the rest of us will have to make up. TFI has 18 or 19000 trucks what’s the tax revenue on that
For those who had any doubt, you can be assured that political and financial considerations always rule the day. As a source of votes and money the CTOA is a force to be catered to, just like any other organized constituent group. The real question is: after all this staged grinning and backslapping will the Ontario Provincial Government enforce the law and clamp down on Driver Inc and immigration program abuse in a meaningful way?I’m thinking not so much. You have to give it to the CTOA though. This is an impressive flex. Must have been a big cheque.
Not that I am defending Mr. Ford in anyway, but there is almost a zero % chance he even knew who this group represents. Another great example of a politician being bought to bring legitimacy to an ill-cause… He probably thinks these guys are actually the backbone of our economy….shame on Doug Ford and his team for allowing him to attend an event held by the very people who are ruining our great industry.
Did the the Minister o Transportation Prabmeet speak in Hindi for tall those who don not speak or read English?
The sweatshirt says it all. Send me your money, you will get great representation in the MTO. Wink wink.
Another horrible image for a premier to project.