Category / Governing / Social welfare
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Modernizing Ontario’s social assistance programs
On May 19, 1989, John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services (COMSOC), announced in the legislature that the government was committing $415 million to a major overhaul of the province’s social…
June 23, 2025 -
Competing in the new global economy: David Peterson’s landmark Premier’s Council
On the crest of his historic June 1985 election victory, Premier David Peterson decided that the province needed a new economic strategy to position it as a competitive force in an increasingly…
June 12, 2025 -
Beer and wine finally in corner stores – not so fast!
Complications were limitless. Despite broad public support at the polls, the issue fired up fierce opposition from political rivals, commercial players and public interest groups. Another obstacle facing the concept was the…
June 12, 2025 -
Making a more effective Legislature for its members and the public
More power for individual MPPs, stronger committees, greater accountability and introducing television to the legislature all helped the public better understand governing in Ontario.
June 11, 2025 -
The Changing Environment During the Peterson Years
From Countdown Acid Rain and province-wide Blue Box programs…to increased enforcement and penalties, Lifelines for water and sewer systems, regulating the Municipal Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA), and signing the Niagara River…
June 11, 2025 -
How the Peterson government broke the mold
The election of May 2,1985 changed Canada’s most populous province in ways that still reverberate today. Try to imagine an Ontario where it is legal to pay women less than men…
June 11, 2025 -
The Peterson policy agenda
Implementing an activist and far-reaching agenda between 1985 to 1990 transformed Ontario politics and policies preparing the province for the 21st century In June 1985, the Liberal Party under David Peterson…
May 8, 2025 -
Opening the doors: Shining a light on how Ontario is governed
A symbolic swearing-in on the Queen’s Park lawn was the metaphor for a more open government The swearing in of the Liberal cabinet June 26, 1985 was the first visual demonstration…
May 7, 2025