Editorial – A well-earned break?

Imagine having a job that pays well, has great employment benefits, staff who work for you, and 35 weeks of breaks. Welcome to Queen’s Park! Elected members of the Ontario legislature have gone on yet another extended break — their second of the 2026 calendar year. The House rose early this past week and will have an extended summer break.

Elected provincial government officials are overworked. The legislature has sat for 30 days so far this year. For that effort, MPPs will be off until the end of October. The government defended the extended summer break, saying legislative business will not distract from the upcoming municipal election. How magnanimous of Premier Ford to do this.

To be fair, opposition MPPs did not want to break for summer this soon because they are still hammering the government on various issues. And MPPs, whether they are in government or opposition, are working in their constituency offices. But is that the business that should be occurring? Where is the leadership from the premier?

Ford has mandated provincial civil servants to return to the office five days per week, allowing few exceptions. Ford’s Minister of Education, Paul Calandra, has made school attendance in elementary and secondary school a priority by making attendance part of a student’s overall grade. Attending work or school full time is a priority for Ford’s government, except if you are elected as part of Ford’s government — only then can you take 21 weeks, or nearly five months, off from legislative sittings.

This spring session saw six out of eight pieces of legislation passed. Two government bills, Bill 109, the Protecting Ontario’s Food Independence Act, and Bill 105, the Protecting Ontario’s Workers and Economic Resilience Act, remain on the Order Paper. Bill 109, in part, restricts foreign farm acquisitions, while Bill 105, in part, expands worker protections and benefits and harmonizes interprovincial worker rules. These are both important government bills, but if Ford’s government managed to get 75 per cent of its legislative agenda done in 30 days, why not go for an extended 147-day break? He and his hardworking government deserve it!

The argument that the extended break is meant to avoid distracting from the upcoming municipal election is moot, as Premier Ford has had no issue meddling in past municipal elections, whether MPPs were sitting in the legislature or not. This break is clearly for other reasons. Transparency and accountability from Premier Ford is needed. Or, perhaps, more than just one month’s worth of work for five months off. If Ford expects workers to be in offices and students to be in school, he should lead by example.