Surprise, surprise! Another of Doug Ford’s plans for the province of Ontario is not going over well with constituents, this one, his push to renegotiate the gaming contracts for Niagara Falls to bring in more development, casinos and action.

In an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, Ford responded to questions about his renewed interest in the southern Ontario city, saying that he wants to “clean it up and make it more modern, give [it] more opportunities for economic development and increased tourism.”

Upper-level discussions about a new “Niagara Destination Strategy” have apparently been ongoing for months.

To many, this seems like yet another case of the premier repeatedly shifting focus away from the issues most crucial to the public — some of them literally life-and-death. So, naturally, the news has gotten a ton of response.

On X, hundreds chimed in with comments about Ford’s dream to Las Vegas-ify the destination, with suggestions that the leader may even just be trolling us at this point between this, his unrealistic Highway 401 tunnel idea and all the scandal surrounding the Ontario Place revitalization, among other things.

Residents aired their grievances on how life in the province has deteriorated, from healthcare to the school system, and the cost of real estate, groceries and life in general.

“Booze and gambling are all Ford has to distract Ontario from his record failures on healthcare, homelessness, housing, transit and the environment,” one person wrote.

Others simply said they’re “so tired” of Ford putting the interests of developers and other private, for-profit entities above the people of his province. Still, others expressed wariness of Ford’s obsession with casinos, especially after a recent audit found that money laundering protections at such properties may not be as strong as they should be.

Given Ford’s wild and wacky proposals amid the current state of things in Ontario, it’s no wonder that more and more people are losing faith in the government and its public services, consider the province unaffordable and depressing, and are the least satisfied with life out of all of Canada.

As bills for citizens have skyrocketed, many young people in particular are thinking of moving away or outright doing so, hopeless that things will change as Ford continues to seemingly disregard what the people actually want.

But, we get casinos!

In all of the chatter on this particular topic over the last day, there are a few people who do agree with Ford’s assessment of the current Niagara Falls, saying many parts of it “need a major redevelopment” and should be made “more exciting and attractive” for better revenue potential.

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