OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is quoted in a number of media reports about the fact that businesses owned by Conservative Party donors are being featured in a number of the Ford government’s “Ontario News Now” (ONN) promotional videos.
“It really is just political propoganda paid for by our tax dollars,” Thomas told 570 News Kitchener host Mike Farwell. “It’s time for Ontario News Now to be shut down. It’s an abuse of everybody’s tax dollars.”
You can listen to the full interview here:
Thomas was also quoted in Queen’s Park Today saying: “The premier says he can’t be bought, but the latest ONN scandal proves that airtime on his propaganda network definitely can be.”
Thomas told CBC that ONN is “very, very biased news, if not fake news. If they wanted to call it a promotion, call it what it is, it’s not news, it’s advertising for a party.”
In the Windsor Star, Thomas said “Talk about blurred ethical boundaries” and called ONN just another part of Ford’s “gravy train.”
The ONN video that brought the scandal to the fore features a winery owner who has donated to Ford’s party. Thomas told Blackburn News: “It’s like the mob has taken over Queen’s Park and their main trade is in alcohol and cannabis.”