The Ontario Progressive Conservatives, who wanted to unveil their transit plan Sunday, had to scrap a photo-op due to a lack of proper permits — for which they blamed the CUPE union.
Via the Globe and Mail:
The plan was for Mr. Hudak to ride the subway from Wellesley station to Davisville with media. But as soon as they boarded, transit police arrived asking to see permits.
No one had them, leading to an awkward exchange between Mr. Hudak’s handlers, TV cameramen and the police.
As the train idled in the station, riders grew increasingly irate.
“Come on! We need to get home!” shouted one woman.
“I’m tired,” said one man returning from a Mother’s Day Run. “Tim Hudak, take some control.”
Mr. Hudak, for his part, smiled awkwardly as the scene unfolded.
The party later whined on Twitter about CUPE interference, even though it was their own oversight that ruined the event. “They are only interested themselves, not fixing transit for commuters,” read one tweet, while another complained that the provincial Liberals hadn’t been stopped from holding similar TTC photo-ops. The Liberals, it turned out, had gotten permission for their campaign event.
CUPE workers stop Tim Hudak photo op on the TTC. They are only interested themselves, not fixing transit for commuters.
— Ontario PC (@OntarioPCParty) May 11, 2014
TTC Union Double Standard: Liberals allowed to hold avails on subway, conservatives told no. #onpoli #VoteON
— Ontario PC (@OntarioPCParty) May 11, 2014
For what it’s worth, Hudak’s transit plan for Toronto includes a downtown relief line, which everyone recognizes is necessary, as well a connection to the Southern Ontario GO Transit network, for which he has not given a price.
Earlier in the week Hudak was questioned over his plan to cut 100,000 public sector jobs if elected, something dubiously included in his party’s “Million Jobs Plan.” According to Statistics Canada, in 2011 there were fewer than 93,000 provincial government jobs to begin with, so either he plans to hire thousands of bureaucrats in order to fire them a week later, or his cuts would include teachers, firefighters and other jobs that people generally don’t consider to be part of the “gravy train.”
UPDATE: As commenter B. Ross Ashley points out, TTC workers are actually represented by The Amalgamated Transit Union, not CUPE. So the Progressive Conservatives didn’t even blame the right union for a thing they didn’t do.