As the dog days of summer wind down, there are many pleasures to look forward to as autumn beckons - fall fairs (if you like that sort of thing), cooler temperatures, a return to the halls of learning for many, the sense of new beginnings for many, and conversely, a resumption of familiar routines for others.
What won't be happening anytime soon is the return of the Ontario legislature, now on a protracted holiday until the end of October, essentially a five-month hiatus - a hiatus that has provided the Ford team freedom from the relentless questions from the opposition, questions that highlight its egregious corruption and ineptitude.
And that fact tells you a great deal about Doug Ford's government. Content to regularly don his Captain Canada uniform, the premier undoubtedly hopes that the province will be awed by his superpower of getting under Donald Trump's skin; consequently, they will not notice he and his government are acting in an authoritarian, undemocratic manner, much like his putative foe, representing a myriad of interests that do nothing to help address the needs of the average citizen. I have written about this previously.
Today will see voting in three byelections. Will Ford's patriotic persona carry the day? People need to remember a few things before casting their ballots.
There is, for example, his unhealthy interest in Toronto. Not only did he unilaterally impose a much smaller council on that city, he is now in the process of dismantling bike lanes on several key routes in the city, routes that had been decided upon some years ago by local government. And while it is true that municipalities are a creature of the province, most premiers do not act as super-mayors in thwarting local democracy.
In the City of Hamilton, Ford recently, through the Ontario Land Tribunal, expanded its boundary by 1300 hectares, a move that benefits only one class of citizen - land developers. Many also see this as a stealth-move to circumvent his thwarted Greenbelt expansion:
In 2022, the provincial government ordered Hamilton to expand its urban boundary by 2,200 hectares. It also released plans to remove 7,400 acres in 15 different areas from the province's Greenbelt, including in Hamilton.
Reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner found that the process to select lands was rushed and favoured certain developers.
Premier Doug Ford reversed course on both matters after heated public outcry. The RCMP continues to investigate the Greenbelt matter.
Then there are the countless ads from the Ontario government, propaganda paid for by its taxpayers, telling us all the great things the province is doing to protect us. Their 'accomplishments' range from more police, stricter bail, a back-to-basics school curriculum to, best of all, no tax increases! Surely we shouldn't begrudge the costs involved.
But if we care to ask, what is the true cost of no new taxes? Well, homeowners will know that they are paying ever-increasing property taxes to deal with problems that should be the purview of upper levels of government, homelessness being the most obvious and pressing problem.
Then there are the problems evident in healthcare: many without family doctors, long wait times for various surgeries, shortages of nurses and doctors, etc.
In education, the erosion of the grant system for post-secondary education is causing many to consider forgoing it.
In public education, a myriad of problems from classroom sizes, a dearth of educational assistants to meet the needs of a diversity of students, and contract issues are evident.
Doug Ford, however, likes to gloss over those problems with big, big ideas, like single-sourced developments on the Toronto waterfront, the closing of the very popular Science Centre, creating tunnels to relieve highway congestion on the 401, etc.
It has been said a sucker is born every minute. Clearly, it is to that demographic Ford and his allies are playing. Let's hope that few of them turn out for today's byelections.
