Toronto – After a second government document was leaked this week, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says the Progressive Conservative Party is imploding.

“Loose lips sink ships and Doug’s ship is sinking fast,” said Thomas. “After 15 years exposing Liberal shenanigans, I’ve gained some insider Tory acquaintances along the way – and there’s a lot of unhappiness within the party.”

Thomas pointed to Ford’s top-down approach as the cause for internal party unrest. While Ford has clearly favoured a select few members, most PC Party backbenchers have been completely shut out of the process, gaining little public exposure on important policy issues.

“Doug’s got a few hotshots he parades in front of the cameras, but most cabinet ministers and backbenchers have been iced out – they’re invisible,” said Thomas. “I bet most folks couldn’t name five of them. So much for democracy and collaboration.

“Ford won the election when he trotted out his elite front bench squad,” said Thomas. “But even Elliott, Mulroney, Phillips and Clarke are out in the cold – they’re only brought out for bad-news announcements. They’ve become window dressing for a leader who’s falling faster in the polls than Kathleen Wynne did.”

After confirming that someone was fired for the leak and that the OPP were notified, OPSEU raised concerns about Ford’s failed attempt to appoint Ron Taverner as OPP Commissioner.

“This is a perfect example of why Taverner shouldn’t get the job of OPP Commissioner,” said OPSEU First Vice-President/Treasurer Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida. “Can you imagine Doug appointing his buddy to run the show? The OPP would have become his own personal snitch line. Talk about conflict of interest. This is why the OPP must be separate, impartial and never meddled with politically.”

“With all this internal political rot, Doug’s problems run deeper than someone leaking documents,” said Thomas. “Ford is nosediving in the polls, there is growing unrest within his party, and people are feeling edgy about job security.

“This is a cocktail for a PC Party crisis,” said Thomas. “So to those backbenchers who do care deeply about serving the public, the time for action is now. Ford views you as nothing more than deck chairs, take back your party before he scuttles your ship.”

For more information: Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931