Chris Young/CANADIAN PRESS Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath speaks at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Sept. 13, 2018.

Opposition leader Andrea Horwath says Premier Doug Ford is muzzling his female cabinet ministers.

The NDP directed a number of questions to Health Minister Christine Elliott and Attorney General Caroline Mulroney in question period this week. Ford answered on Elliott's behalf on Wednesday and Thursday. While Mulroney took her own questions in the legislature, she was noticeably absent at the news conference where Ford announced he would invoke the notwithstanding clause of the constitution to pass legislation to reduce the size of Toronto city council.

"These are all strong women and he's simply walking all over them," Horwath told HuffPost Canada on Thursday.

She said she's shocked that Ford's entire cabinet supports his choice to protect laws from judicial review.

These are all strong women and he's simply walking all over them.Andrea Horwath

"They pretended during the election campaign that some of the more moderate voices would actually curb Mr. Ford's penchant for being over the top. His radicalism has, in fact, not been tamed by those cabinet ministers," Horwath said.

Aside from Ford himself, Caroline Mulroney has faced the most intense criticism over the government's decision to protect legislation from certain types of judicial review. A heckler called her out from the public gallery on Thursday for the second day in a row.

"Ms. Mulroney, where do you stand?" a man shouted at her before being asked to leave.