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TORONTO – A Progressive Conservative legislator who publicly denounced Ontario's decision to scrap the independent office of the French Language Services Commissioner and a proposed French-language university left the Conservative caucus.
In a letter to the President of the Legislative Assembly, Amanda Simard, states that her decision takes effect immediately and that she will remain in Parliament as an independent.
The new legislature, representing a predominantly Franco-Ontarian constituency, broke the ranks of Premier Doug Ford's government in two controversial decisions affecting approximately 600,000 Francophones in the province.
Simard said on Wednesday that she was not satisfied with the announcement made by the government last week to create a commissioner position within the provincial ombudsman's office, to create a Ministry of Francophone Affairs and to engage a senior advisor on Francophone Affairs at the Prime Minister's Office.
She said partial backtracking was not enough.
Ford said the measures announced in the fall economic statement were needed to reduce the province's deficit, although it did not say how much it would save.
Simard said on Wednesday that the measures would not "significantly contribute" to the tightening of the provincial belt.
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