The Toronto Board of Health is a “bastion of lefties” that spends ridiculous amounts of money, Premier Doug Ford says.

“As a matter of fact, we put them there,” the former Toronto councillor said Monday. “Mayor (John) Tory took the same strategy we did. Put all the lefties in one corner in Toronto health.”

Toronto Councillor Joe Cressy currently chairs the board of health.

Ford’s comment came in response to a question from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath about provincial cuts to municipal funding, including a reduction to Toronto Public Health.

“The premier’s credibility is reduced every time he turns to name calling and red baiting, if you want to call it that,” Horwath said. “I mean, what are we? In the ’50s? Grow up and do your job.”

The Ford government has cut $178 million from the city this year, after its budget was passed — $24 million from transit, $65 million from public health and $85 million from child care, Horwath said.

Ford said the Opposition leader and the city must be using the same calculator, one he implied was flawed.

“They’re saying we cut $24 million in transit? You’ve got to be kidding,” he said. “We’re investing $28.5 billion in transit. The vast majority is going into Toronto.”

Tory said the funding for transit construction is welcome.

“But It doesn’t have anything directly to do with the continued support they should be extending to programs they’ve historically supported like child care and like public health and others,” Tory said Monday. “And it doesn’t have to do with a blatant broken promise from the election campaign where they said they would continue with the fuel tax enhancements that the previous government had announced.”

Tory added that a portion of their gas tax share could have been spent on transit maintenance, a cost the city now absorbs through the TTC.

aartuso@postmedia.com