Under fire after the Star revealed the Progressive Conservatives are enlisting lobbyists to sell $1,250 tickets to Premier Doug Ford’s fundraiser, the governing party is lashing out at the media and the opposition.In an email appeal for campaign contributions sent Tuesday, Tony Miele, chair of the PC Fund of Ontario, urged donors to rally behind the premier who unseated Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals last June.“We have one shot. After 15 years of Liberal waste, we need to fix this province,” wrote Miele.“On Wednesday, we’re holding the biggest fundraiser Ontario has ever seen. When Doug Ford hits the stage there can be no doubt: Doug Ford is the premier of the people,” he continued.“The opposition is crying foul. The media is crying foul. They can’t stand what they don’t understand. And they don’t understand how Doug Ford can be so popular.”Miele notes that “on Wednesday, we’re going to raise more money in a single day than any party has before” at a Toronto Congress Centre event that should bring in at least $2 million to PC coffers.Read more: Tories accused of selling access to Doug Ford with $1,250 fundraiser tickets Lobbyists selling tickets for Ford’s $1,250-a-plate fundraiserDoug Ford defends ticket sales by lobbyists to PC fundraiser“It’s time to show the province, the country, and the world that Doug Ford has the support of the people. Because Doug Ford is for the people.”In an unusual move for such large events, the fundraiser has been closed to the media, although Ford’s speech will be available on a live stream.Journalists are usually permitted to cover a premier’s speech, then leave before dinner is served. But the Conservatives have been scrambling to do damage control since it emerged last Thursday that they appealed to lobbyists for help, due to restrictions around fundraising introduced in 2016 by the Liberals.A ban on corporat ...
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