Robert Benzie
@robertbenzie
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Queen's Park Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star
Joined March 2011
BREAKING: An @OntarioPCParty political staffer has been fired/asked to resign after it was revealed she donated $100 to the illegal Ottawa blockade, sources told the @TorontoStar. #onpoli.
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2023 property tax hike: 7%.2024 property tax hike: 9.5%.2025 proposed property tax hike: 6.9%.That means the equivalent of a 24% increase since 2023. #topoli .
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.@TorontoStar photographer Rene Johnston's front-page picture is worth way more than 1,000 of my words. Brilliant. #onpoli #cdnpoli
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Props to @cafreeland for making the exact same face so many of us make when we hear people say they plan to travel regardless of the pandemic. #COVID19
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A rattled looking @PierrePoilievre lashes out at a CBC reporter’s question about the rookie @CPC_HQ leader’s support for the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protest. Complains in both English and French about “bias.” (His press conference inexperience is shining through.).#cdnpoli.
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NEW: Interim @CPC_HQ Leader @CandiceBergenMP: “The NDP-Liberal coalition is nothing more than a callous attempt by Trudeau to hold on to power. Canadians did not vote for an NDP government. This is little more than backdoor socialism.”.#cdnpoli.
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Kudos to staff at an Orillia supermarket that wouldn’t let a woman with a shopping basket full of toilet paper hoard so many rolls. They said she could buy two big packs and made her put the rest back on the shelf for other customers. #panicbuying #COVID19.
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This is the largest protest we have seen at Queen’s Park in a long time. Thousands of students. #onpoli #climatestrikecanada
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BREAKING: @DrEricHoskins says Ontario to "provide life-saving care" to foreign kids whose surgeries cancelled due to Trump's travel ban.
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BREAKING: The provincial controller -- the Ontario government's chief accountant -- quit after refusing to sign off on Finance Minister Vic Fedeli's $15B deficit, the @TorontoStar has learned. She felt it was inflated by $5B. #onpoli .
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In a rare move, the @globeandmail uses its front page to denounce the federal government’s botched pandemic response on vaccines and airports. (A @TorontoStar poll found 52% blame Ottawa for the vaccine shortages.).#COVID19
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BREAKING: Ontario will mandate vaccines for hospital and LTC workers and begin targeted #COVID19 booster shots while keeping current pandemic restrictions indefinitely, the @TorontoStar has learned. #onpoli
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BREAKING: Mask mandates in Ontario will be lifted March 21, the @TorontoStar has learned. #onpoli .
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BREAKING: Premier Doug Ford is worried several disgruntled @OntarioPCParty MPPs are poised to defect to the Liberals, the @TorontoStar has learned. #onpoli.
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BREAKING: The RCMP has launched a criminal investigation into Premier Doug Ford’s $8.28B Greenbelt land swap scandal. The @TorontoStar has the story. #onpoli
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BREAKING: Interim OPP Commissioner Brad Blair alleges Premier Doug Ford's chief of staff asked the police force "to purchase a large camper type vehicle . modified to specifications the premier's office would provide us" and keep the costs "off the books.".#onpoli.
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Geneviève Bergeron.Hélène Colgan.Nathalie Croteau.Barbara Daigneault.Anne-Marie Edward.Maud Haviernick.Maryse Laganière.Maryse Leclair.Anne-Marie Lemay.Sonia Pelletier.Michèle Richard.Annie St-Arneault.Annie Turcotte.Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
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NEW: Maru Public Opinion poll:.66% support Trudeau invoking Emergencies Act.82% say 3-week Ottawa protest gone on too long.67% say clear them out.71% say Canada’s handling of it an international embarrassment.54% blame politicians.56% say premiers caved by lifting restrictions.
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If you went to bed last night, you are waking up to one of the biggest byelection upsets in Canadian history. A stunning win by the Tories in one of the safest Liberal seats in the country. #cdnpoli .
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BREAKING: RCMP detectives are interviewing witnesses linked to Premier Doug Ford's government about the $8.28-billion Greenbelt land swap scandal, the @TorontoStar has learned. Current and former @OntarioPCParty aides cooperating with police. #onpoli .
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Geneviève Bergeron.Hélène Colgan.Nathalie Croteau.Barbara Daigneault.Anne-Marie Edward.Maud Haviernick.Maryse Laganière.Maryse Leclair.Anne-Marie Lemay.Sonia Pelletier.Michèle Richard.Annie St-Arneault.Annie Turcotte.Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.#December6.
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NEW: After @TorontoStar revelations, @StevenDelDuca: “a jaw-dropping scandal has revealed that Doug Ford lied to Ontario and betrayed the trust of voters. Ford ignored the advice of Ontario’s top doctors and then lied to us about it.” Urges replacement of “political plan.”.
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BREAKING: Premier Doug Ford and former solicitor general Sylvia Jones are “seeking a judicial review to set aside the summons and receive a stay under the grounds the summons are inconsistent with the members’ parliamentary privilege.” Ford and Jones do not want to testify.
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In fairness, the guillotine scare has everyone a bit rattled, so there may have been concerns the seniors were armed with copies of A Tale Of Two Cities.
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Geneviève Bergeron.Hélène Colgan.Nathalie Croteau.Barbara Daigneault .Anne-Marie Edward.Maud Haviernick.Maryse Laganière.Maryse Leclair.Anne-Marie Lemay.Sonia Pelletier.Michèle Richard.Annie St-Arneault.Annie Turcotte.Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
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Popular former American president endorses Trudeau over fellow U.S. citizen. #elxn43.
I was proud to work with Justin Trudeau as President. He's a hard-working, effective leader who takes on big issues like climate change. The world needs his progressive leadership now, and I hope our neighbors to the north support him for another term.
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BREAKING: Premier Doug Ford has abandoned plans to have his pal, Supt. Ron Taverner, 72, be OPP commissioner. Ford had been under fire over the controversial appointment, which has remained in limbo for weeks during an ethics probe. A new commissioner will be hired. #onpoli.
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Premier Doug Ford fundraising appeal: "You should pitch in $2 to make sure we are ready for the next election. Because if you think Drive Clean was bad, you don’t want to know what these guys will come up with next." (Drive Clean was created by an @OntarioPCParty government.).
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Former PC MPP @ASimardL returned to Queen's Park today. “You’ve got to do what’s right for your riding. I didn’t go to law school . let alone get elected to clap when I’m told," she tells the @TorontoStar. #onpoli .
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Doug Ford is reading from notes on highways and says: "Mr. Del Duca you didn't build absolutely nothing.".#onpoli.
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It sounds like science fiction, but beer can actually be found in hundreds of Ontario grocery stores -- and, look, right next to the chips and not far from the steaks! #onpoli
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@StevenDelDuca accuses Doug Ford of “going into hiding” today after his debate performance. “He’s in way over his head and doesn’t have the capacity to lead this province,” says Del Duca. #onpoli.
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Good news for Premier Doug Ford: Employment in Ontario increased by 47,100 in April. Less good news: That was the first month of what he has called a "job-killing federal carbon tax.".#onpoli.
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NEW: @OntarioPCCaucus Leader Doug Ford will be allowed to bring his binder to the debate stage Monday despite the other parties insisting crib notes shouldn’t be allowed, sources told the @TorontoStar. #onpoli.
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BREAKING: @OntarioPCParty government’s election financing law limiting the spending by groups like Working Families has been struck down as unconstitutional. Major victory for teachers’ unions and @cancivlib. Complete coverage soon at the @TorontoStar. #onpoli .#onted.
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BREAKING: Thousands of pages of FOI documents related to Premier Doug Ford's Greenbelt land swap scandal reveal political staffers were also directly involved in municipal boundary changes -- before the election. Story soon at the @TorontoStar. #onpoli .
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NEW: Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau warns @realDonaldTrump in French that “trade goes in both directions and it would be a mistake” to stop the export of @3M masks. PM notes thousands of nurses in Windsor work in Detroit. #COVID19.
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Have heard a lot of concession speeches in my career, but not sure I have heard a better or a more gracious one than from @cmckenney who lost to @_MarkSutcliffe in Ottawa tonight. We have not heard the last of McKenney in politics. #ottcity.
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.@OntLiberal Leader @StevenDelDuca: “Doug Ford will do anything to cling to power. Invoking the notwithstanding clause to overturn a court decision to protect our freedom of expression is outrageous.”.#onpoli.
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Premier Doug Ford’s taxpayer-funded ads attacking federal carbon-pricing measures have been now denounced by the editorial boards of the @TorontoStar, @globeandmail, and @TheTorontoSun — as well as @OntarioAuditor. #onpoli #cdnpoli .
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As we remember John Lennon, shot dead 37 years ago today, it is worth revisiting the greatest on-deadline column in history. Jimmy Breslin filed this masterpiece to the @NYDailyNews that tragic night.
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“But, please, taxpayers, buy us a new stadium.”.
The @NHLFlames will not compensate their part-time, hourly and event staff for cancelled shifts during the suspension of the NHL season due to the #COVID-19 outbreak.
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BREAKING: @ASimardL has just resigned from the @OntarioPCParty caucus in protest of cuts to French services. She will sit as an Independent. #onpoli.
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Demonstrators are rallying at Queen’s Park for action on climate change. Several hundred people here. Much bigger than the fringe anti-vaxer protests that received so much media coverage. #onpoli
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BREAKING: Bowing to pressure from Mayor John Tory, Premier Doug Ford is set to cancel retroactive cuts that have hit public health, child care, and other municipal services, the @TorontoStar has learned. Details soon at .#onpoli.#topoli.
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A reminder: the @liberal_party received 32.6% of the popular vote in the 2021 election and the @NDP garnered 17.8%. That means 50.4% of Canadians voted for the two parties. (@CPC_HQ won the popular vote with 33.7%).#cdnpoli .
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BREAKING: OPP deputy commissioner Brad Blair, who blew the whistle on Premier Doug Ford's customized van, has been fired from the force. Blair complained about the appointment of Ford friend Ron Taverner as OPP commissioner. #onpoli.
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1. The media were given no notice about the premier’s trip until the night before he and the treasurer jetted to New York. 2. The Star asked about his trade mission yesterday and today. 3. Ontario News Now does video press releases not journalism.
Despite putting out numerous advisories and news releases on Premier @fordnation meeting with some of the biggest companies in America, I received one media request for information regarding his trip. And they wonder why @OntarioNewsNow exists.
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BREAKING: Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau warns that those who ignore social distancing and keeping 2 metres apart are putting others at risk. “Enough is enough. Go home and stay home.” Hints that a “just watch me” moment is coming. #COVID19.
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BREAKING: Ontario will invoke the notwithstanding clause for the first time in its history to overrule yesterday’s provincial judicial ruling that struck down Premier Doug Ford’s curbs on unions’ electoral spending. House resumes tomorrow at 3 pm. #onpoli.
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BREAKING: Former Progressive Conservative premier Bill Davis, instrumental in the repatriation of the Constitution, denounces Premier Doug Ford invoking the "notwithstanding" clause. #onpoli.
One of the founding fathers of our constitution, former Ontario premier @WilliamGDavisPC: @fordnation is wrong to use notwithstanding clause. #onpoli #NotwithstandingClause.
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NEW: Official portraits of King Charles III and Queen Camilla have quietly been unveiled at Queen’s Park. #onpoli
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Full-page newspaper ad by @ETFOeducators in response to the premier invoking the “notwithstanding” clause to override a court ruling that found his spending limits on such ads were unconstitutional. #onpoli
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NDP Leader @AndreaHorwath says @OntarioPCParty government needs to do more for nurses. That prompts a heckle from Independent MPP @Roman_Baber: “Yet you want to fire them.” .#onpoli .#COVID19
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BREAKING: @cupenat has called for @FredHahnCUPE to resign over antisemitic post as Premier Doug Ford denounced the controversial union leader. #onpoli .
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NEW: @OntLiberal leadership candidate @AlvinTedjo promises to eliminate public funding of Catholic schools in Ontario. #onpoli #onted.
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It is “Prime Minister” not “Mr. Prime Minister.” Unclear why this American conceit has crept into Canada. (It is also not “Mr. Premier” or “Mr. Mayor” in this country.) .End of pedantic interjection.
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Respected British Conservative MP and grandson of Winston Churchill on the current US president’s excuse for skipping a planned visit to the Belleau Wood battlefield and cemetery 80 km northeast of Paris. #LestWeForget.
They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen #hesnotfittorepresenthisgreatcountry.
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Torontonians enjoy the best and most competitive newspaper market in North America. On the Post's 20th birthday, go buy a copy of any one of them. The Star, 126 years old, the Globe, 174, the Sun, 47, and the Post all serve this community well. #journalism
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NEW: Independent MPP @Roman_Baber is considering a bid for the federal @CPC_HQ leadership. #onpoli .#cdnpoli .
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BREAKING: Ontario enters Step 3 of reopening next week. That means indoor dining and gyms. Under a Step 4, almost back to normal. That would start Aug. 6 and allow up to 1,000 people indoors and up to 15,000 outdoors. Threshold for 4 is 80% one shot and 75% full vaccinated.
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NEW: @OntarioNDP Leader @AndreaHorwath says “Doug Ford walked us into this lockdown with eyes wide open. While experts were warning him of explosive growth of more infectious and more deadly variants, he cancelled public health protections. He marched us right into grave danger.".
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BREAKING: Education Minister @LisaThompsonMPP has just announced that full-day kindergarten is here to stay. This ends days of confusing signals from the government that left parents anxious and opposition critics gearing up to contest the 2022 election on the issue. #onpoli.
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BREAKING: Education Minister @LisaThompsonMPP says consent, cyber safety, and gender will be taught in sex education. Looks like @OntarioPCParty government may be retreating a bit from last week's 1998 lesson plan. #onpoli.
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Tonight is the biggest game in the history of Canadian basketball, which, of course, was invented by Almonte, Ontario’s James Naismith in 1891. #WeTheNorth #Raptors.
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NEW: With 45,000 @AstraZeneca doses ready to be used, it could be a two-dose spring for some Ontarians. #onpoli .#COVID19 .
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Co-moderator @althiaraj notes the leaders were asked not to bring notes in order to keep the debate spontaneous. Ford's team insisted he be allowed to bring a binder. #onpoli.
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NEW: Fresh from exposing Premier Doug Ford’s $8.28-billion Greenbelt land swap scandal, the provincial auditor general is now probing the Ontario Place redevelopment. (As first reported by @ColinDMello and @isaaccallan.).#onpoli.#topoli .
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The biggest-spending premier in the history of Canada -- Ontario's Doug Ford -- laments how much money taxpayers give to government. #onpoli.
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NEW: Premier Doug Ford was personally involved in choosing the illegible double-blue Ontario licence plates that his @OntarioPCParty government is now scrapping, the @TorontoStar has learned. #onpoli .
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Hundreds of college and university students have arrived at Queen's Park to protest the government's OSAP changes. #onpoli
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Geneviève Bergeron.Hélène Colgan.Nathalie Croteau.Barbara Daigneault.Anne-Marie Edward.Maud Haviernick.Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.Maryse Laganière.Maryse Leclair.Anne-Marie Lemay.Sonia Pelletier.Michèle Richard.Annie St-Arneault.Annie Turcotte.
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NEW: @johnVcorbett poll for the @TorontoStar finds 54 per cent of those surveyed “less likely” to vote for @AndrewScheer in October due to @fordnation’s policies. #onpoli #cdnpoli.
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NEW: The dash cam video footage of Premier Doug Ford’s campaign manager’s 1988 Ferrari 328 GTS being hit by a new Chevrolet Silverado pick-up. #onpoli .
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NEW: Speaker Ted Arnott has prohibited Palestinian kaffiyehs from being worn by anyone -- MPPs or guests -- in the Ontario legislature over concerns the scarves make "an overt political statement." The NDP has asked him to reconsider. #onpoli
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BREAKING: Premier Doug Ford's government is slashing OHIP-covered eye services for seniors. (The government, the best Friday afternoon tradition of a "dump day," has also released the Sunshine List of $100K+ earners).#onpoli.
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BREAKING: In another flip-flop related to the Greenbelt land swap scandal, Premier Doug Ford’s government is scrapping changes to official plans in Ottawa, Hamilton, Barrie and a slew of other cities. A major U-turn. #onpoli.
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Condolences to former premier @Kathleen_Wynne and her family on the passing of her father, Dr. John Burns Wynne. #onpoli
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"Holy Christ, I just swallowed a bee. He's wedged in my throat. Man, he went right down the hatch. I just made @ColinDMello's day," says Premier Doug Ford during an avail in Dundalk, Ontario. Ford says he is all right. #onpoli.
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In Ohio, Premier Doug Ford says “nothing’s worse than the nanny state.” His government has forced private businesses to post political stickers on all gas pumps or face minimum daily fines of $150. The decals are peeling off because of a snafu. #onpoli.
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NEW: Tories concerned boo-birds at @Raptors celebration could be a canary in a coalmine for the premier. #onpoli #WeTheNorth .
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NEW: It began with a decal debacle and it ended with a Supreme smackdown. Premier Doug Ford has lost his $30M taxpayer-funded war against Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau’s federal “carbon tax.”.#onpoli .
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