Justin Trudeau Spoke With Doug Ford & They Cleary Didn't See Eye-To-Eye On A Few Things

In the midst of a looming strike by Ontario's 55,000 education workers, and the many other ongoing issues across the province and country, there was no shortage of things to discuss in a meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday night.

But it seems like they might've had a rather tense conversation.

Statements released by both the Premier and Prime Minister afterward painted slightly different pictures of topics they discussed.

The obvious sticking point was the ongoing threat of strike action by Ontario's education workers.

"I emphasized the importance of standing up for Canadians’ rights and freedoms, including workers’ rights," said Trudeau, as the Ford government's legislation to impose a contract on education workers and keep them from going on strike is expected to be passed into law on Thursday.

"I reiterated that the preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause is wrong and inappropriate."

The clause would mean fines of up to $4,000 per day for any worker who chooses to strike.

The President of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions, Laura Walton, told reporters Wednesday that workers will be on strike indefinitely as long as they remain without a contract.

Multiple school boards have confirmed a strike would force them to close and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has confirmed its schools will be closed for in-person learning "for the duration of this strike action."

"Shutting down classrooms would have an unacceptable impact on students," said Ford, speaking of his meeting with the Prime Minister.

"I reiterated that Ontario is determined, if necessary, to pass legislation to keep classrooms open and ensure stability for parents and students."

Statements from Trudeau and Ford said the pair also talked about affordable housing in Ontario and health care.

"I raised concerns about inadequate federal health care funding and the need for the Prime Minister to be at the table with all premiers to address pressures in health systems across Canada," Ford said.

Seems like another disagreement — oh to be a fly on the wall during this conversation.

But, according to Ford, the two did see eye to eye on something.

"We both agreed on the need to continue working together to build more homes faster," said the Premier.

A statement from Trudeau's office also tried to recap things on a more positive note.

"The Prime Minister and the Premier agreed to continue working together on these and other issues of importance to Ontarians."