The Ford Government is a textbook example of extreme neoliberal policy: reduce government and regulations to a minimum; cut taxes; let business operate freely without restrictions; encourage investment and embrace the free market to deliver growth, maximum profits — all leading to prosperity. Question: Is this making your life better?
The Ford government has axed provincial funding for two institutes credited with positioning Ontario and Canada at the forefront of artificial intelligence research — a field the government’s own prosperity think tank says must be supported if the province wants to remain competitive and create jobs in a booming technology sector.
The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade cut $20 million from the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and $4 million annually from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), which supports a hub of AI-focused computer scientists. Both draw funding from the federal government and other sources and say they will adjust programming or operations.