Trucking group buying tickets for Ford fundraiser to raise issues with ‘minister directly’

As Premier Doug Ford fends disconnected disapproval that the Progressive Conservative authorities is engaging successful cash-for-access fundraisers, Global News has learned that 1 proscription manufacture relation is telling its members to acquisition aggregate tickets to a enactment lawsuit to “deliver 1 wide message” to the premier.

The Ford government has been connected the antiaircraft aft it was revealed that furniture ministers were fixed fundraising targets for the remainder of 2024 — a petition that came straight from the PC Party’s main fundraiser.

On Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford defended the practice, saying fundraising is simply a mean portion of pre-election politics.

“We gotta rise wealth to tally an election, conscionable similar the Liberals and NDP,” Ford told Global News during an impromptu interrogation astatine an unrelated event.

In the legislature, Attorney General Doug Downey has been called upon by the enactment to support accusations of cash-for-access levelled by absorption politicians. While Downey denied the claim, 1 radical appears to person a antithetic presumption of the Ford government’s fundraisers.

The Ontario Trucking Association precocious posted an online entreaty to each of its members to acquisition tickets to an upcoming fundraiser featuring Premier Ford and Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria.

Tickets to the Vaughan-area fundraiser, which Ford and Sarkaria are expected to headline, are selling for betwixt $1,000 and $3,375 per ticket.

The trucking association, which has raised concerns astir an “underground economy” successful the trucking manufacture and non-compliance with provincial laws, appealed to its members to “get progressive politically” successful bid to propulsion for a favourable outcome.

“Premier Ford and Transportation Minister Sarkaria volition beryllium hosting a small, comparatively exclusive fundraiser,” the association’s president said successful a nationalist announcement connected its website.

“I americium imploring each of you to be and rise our concerns with the curate directly.”

The goal, the relation said, was to merchantability astatine slightest 50 to 60 tickets successful bid to “turn this lawsuit into an OTA subordinate trucking event,” and nonstop the Ford authorities a message.

“Our manufacture supports your government, and we request your authorities to bring bid to our sector,” the relation said successful its appeal.

The manufacture radical besides encouraged members who purchased tickets to the PC Party fundraiser to alert the relation “so that we tin tally up what our relation has raised and contiguous to the minister.”

“This is the lone mode to triumph this battle,” the relation president said.

The Ontario Trucking Association told Global News that portion members were “encouraged” to be the governmental event, it was “based connected our ain accord” and that the relation “did not talk to anyone successful authorities astir this event.”

“We are precise supportive of this authorities and the initiatives they are taking to marque beingness amended for truckers successful this province. This is our mode of showing continued support,” the relation said successful a statement.

A spokesperson for Sarkaria said the authorities “had nary engagement successful this.”

At Queen’s Park, the Ford authorities faced governmental vigor during question play aft the NDP likened the concern to the erstwhile Liberal government’s cash-for-access ungraded successful 2016 erstwhile furniture ministers were fixed circumstantial dollar amounts to fundraise.

“Isn’t this conscionable different illustration of your ministers cashing successful connected their connections portion the radical of Ontario person to combat to beryllium heard,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles charged.

Downey dismissed immoderate relation with the 2016 cash-for-access scandal, saying ministers were lone told to clasp 2 to 5 fundraisers, but that determination was nary directive connected the guestlist.

“It doesn’t accidental who to invite, it doesn’t person what amount,” Downey said of the instructions from PC Party fundraiser Tony Miele to furniture ministers.

“This isn’t thing similar the cash-for-access the Liberals got into.”