[7] In August 1988, Peterson appointed Black as a one-man task force to review government and non-government programs against drug abuse.
[14] He introduced a new provincial anti-drug strategy in November 1989 that fulfilled some of his previous recommendations, including the hiring of more police officers and the introduction of early education programs.
[15][16] Black was critical of the federal Goods and Services Tax introduced by the government of Brian Mulroney, arguing that it would put Ontario's tourism sector at risk of losing jobs and revenue.
The Liberals suffered an upset loss to the New Democratic Party in the 1990 provincial election, and Black finished third in his bid for re-election.
[20] In 1991-92, he was chief organizer for Charles Beer's unsuccessful bid to succeed Peterson as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.
[3] On August 29, 2016 he died from an undiagnosed case of acute leukemia at the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital in Bracebridge, Ontario.