Overview

• Less than a week after vowing to invoke Section 95 of the Constitution for provincial permits, Ford abandoned the plan at Queen’s Park.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says asylum seeker work permits take about 45 days nationally and 48 days in Ontario, not the two years Ford cited.
• Labour Minister David Piccini confirmed Ontario will not issue its own permits while premiers continue urging Ottawa to accelerate refugee claim adjudications.
• Ford argued that prolonged permit delays forced asylum seekers onto social assistance or into undeclared work, increasing costs for Ontario’s support programs.
• Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the reversal highlights Ford’s inconsistency and urged him to focus on core provincial responsibilities like health care and infrastructure.