Reactions from the opposition parties in the Ontario Parliament swiftly came to oppose the Harris government. In the nine times the Parliament met between 25 February and 2 April 1997, opposition MPPs raised the issue of Montfort eighteen times. The day after the Commission's announcement, a number of Liberal MPPs, including Jean-Marc Lalonde, Dalton McGuinty, Bernard Grandmaître, Gilles Morin, and Richard Patten, announced that they were working on a plan to defeat the cuts. Former NDP Ontario Premier Bob Rae also announced his support for the cause and NDP MPP for Timmins Gilles Bisson was one of the guest speakers at the 22 March rally.
