Premier Doug Ford defends pulling funds from planned francophone university

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government had to pull its funding from a planned francophoneuniversity, and that Quebec's newly-elected premier understands why.

Ford addressed the media after his first meeting withQuebec's new premier,FranoisLegault, on Monday afternoon.

Following the closed door talk,Legaultsaid he was "disappointed" with Ford's decision to abolish Ontario's Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and scrap plans for a newfrancophoneuniversity to save money.

Ford said his government inherited a $15 billion deficit, making the new university, along with three new English post-secondary institutions, not feasible right now. Legault, he said, "understood that."

The premier said the previous Liberal government shouldn't have promised to build the institutions if they didn't have the money.

"If anyone has a complaint they should be calling Kathleen Wynne's office," he told reporters.

Ford also commented on acontroversial motion on gender identity introduced at lastweekend's Progressive Conservative party convention.

The resolution, introduced at the convention by parental rights advocate Tanya Granic Allen, declares gender identity a "Liberal ideology" and asks that references to it be removed from Ontario's sex-education curriculum.

Ford said he's killing the non-binding resolution.

"I'm not moving forward with that," he said.

"It's done."

Watch Official Languages Minister MlanieJolydiscuss how the federal governmentplans to defendFrancophonesin Ontario on Power & Politics

Will the federal government intervene in Premier Ford's 'cheap shot' Francophone cuts?

6 years ago

Duration 6:48

'Linguistic rights are a national issue,' says Official Languages Minister Melanie Joly on Power & Politics.