If You Live In Ontario

 ... you will understand the following

H/t Moudakis

One of the dubious accomplishments of Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government has been to reduce the relationship between the governed and those who govern to a transactional one. No more are there entertained the lofty sentiments of a John Kennedy, who famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

No, those days are long gone, to be replaced by crass efforts to convince everyone that government exists only to make your life better (an illusion that some people only latter discover is untrue) through egregious vote-buying.

Forget the common good. Forget the larger issues that demand sacrifice from all (climate change, rampant homelessness, drug addiction, etc. etc.) And, of course, forget about the fact that these giveaways preclude any effort to re-upload provincial responsibilities that are bleeding property taxpayers dry.

As is often the case, however, I am prevented from slipping into complete despair by the fact that a few see through the entire facade.

Doug Ford spending nearly half of Ontario’s tax windfall on $200 ‘rebate’ cheques, Oct. 20

What a fiscally irresponsible premier we have. 

First, Doug Ford scrapped the $120 licence plate renewal fee, costing the province about $1.1 billion a year. Wasn’t that money necessary to fix our roads, highways, bridges, etc.? Then Ford broke a contract one year early with the LCBO to the tune of at least $225 million. (This could go as high as $1 billion with the projected repercussions.) Apparently getting beer at the corner store is more important than putting money toward, let’s say, health care.

Now he wants to give $200 to each taxpayer regardless of their income. (Naturally this will not include the most vulnerable among us who do not pay taxes.) This will cost $3 billion. That’s BILLIONS of dollars that could have gone to hire the doctors, nurses and support staff required to cut surgery and emergency wait times; ensure mental health care for children who now have to wait years for help; fund schools properly so they don’t have to fund raise for necessities; subsidize homes for the homeless. Think about this as you spend your $200 bribe for your vote that could have been used for the greater good — improving the lives of the entire population of Ontario.

Susan Ross, London ON 

A deplorable stunt

This is one of the most bizarre decisions that I have ever witnessed by a government institution. Ontario has a huge debt burden which is being compounded by annual deficits. Apparently the Ontario government thinks it should be rewarded (at the expense of their growing debt obligations) but they should be condemned for such a deplorable stunt.

Robert Woodcock, North York

Ford stop this crazy circus. We don’t find it amusing

What kind of a clown act is that, sending us back our own money intended for our welfare? Thanks, but no thanks. That $3 billion is our tax money. It would go a long way in areas in desperate need of funding. We are not amused. The only clown act we want to see from you is of the disappearing kind.

 Frances Sedgwick, Toronto

For Your Consideration

Okay I confess to being a bit obsessed about certain things:

H/t Moudakis

Meanwhile, Star readers weigh in:

An outrageous, insulting and self-centred waste of our tax dollars

Four ways to mock Doug Ford for trying to buy our fleeting love, Oct. 21

I could feel Heather Mallick’s frustration as I read her article and I agree with everything she said. We taxpayers mustn’t overlook where Ford’s $200 generosity is coming from. It is not coming out of his personal pocket. It is coming out of our tax dollars. So, in effect, he is giving us back our own money. This is an outrageous, insulting and self-centred waste of our tax dollars. We need and deserve to have our taxes spent on necessary services that are designed to help every person in Ontario.

Patricia Steward, East York

We’re donating our pre-election cheques to help the homeless

Doug Ford poised to send out pre-election cheques to 16 million Ontarians, Oct. 16

Premier Doug Ford’s blatant bribe for votes is disgusting, shameless and a very typical of his Progressive Conservative government. Our two-person household will be signing over our two cheques to the Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness. We feel the money will be of more use to those homeless folks Ford tells to “get off your a-s-s and start working like everyone else.” One wonders if homeless folks will even get a cheque, since they don’t have an address. Well done, premier. More than $3 billion spent on bribery, when that money could and should go to health care, education and ending homelessness [emphasis mine]. Priorities, folks!

Nancy Van Kessel, Mississauga

A Master Class

 

If you have been reading my blog lately, you will see that I have posted a few times about the ongoing bribery by Doug Ford in his efforts to secure a second majority come this June's election. Indeed, for the student of politics, Ford's government is a master class in political sleaze. 

Whether or not he finds success in buying people's votes, it is at least a bit comforting to know that others are not so easily swayed by his all-too-transparent efforts. The following letters attest to that fact: 

Doug Ford’s obvious desperation for victory is troubling | The Star

 With the volume of economic announcements being made by the Doug Ford provincial government, one gets the impression Premier Ford is desperate to win the next election.

The incumbent leaders can wield a lot of persuasive power to grease the rails for a victory. But winning at all costs is not in the democratic handbook.

We all know Donald Trump wanted to win too badly and was prepared to do so at all costs, such as doing so illegally and trashing his own reputation in the process. But here in Ontario, I have never seen a government in power deliver so many pre-election perks. For instance, the most foolish of all was the refund for past years’ licence sticker payments. Waiving future fees would have been enough.

The question is: does Doug Ford want to win the election too much? And why? He hasn’t shown any natural ability for the job of premier.

Greg Prince, Toronto

 Ontario vehicle owners will get rebates for licence plate renewal fees, Doug Ford says, Feb. 22

I can’t tell you how disgusted I was when I opened my letter from Service Ontario and it was a cheque for my licence rebate.

I’m sure there are people in Ontario who could use that money. But is this what we have been reduced to? Like a sheriff walking into a saloon and buying drinks for anyone who will vote for him. (Oh, that was last time with buck-a-beer.)

I hope Ontario voters are smarter than that. Vote for someone who will really help those who need it.

William McCulloch, Toronto

The Most Dangerous Bribe

 

H/t Theo Moudakis

I wrote recently about the large-scale bribery that Doug Ford is engaging in during the run-up to Ontario's June 2 provincial election. Cheques in the mail, promises of gas-tax reductions, ending toll fees on some highways,  pending cheaper childcare - all measures to convince an often credulous public that his is an activist government concerned about making life more affordable for ordinary folks. 

While all of these 'giveaways' carry with them great potential harm to our economy, perhaps the biggest political bribe of them all goes much further, this time jeopardizing people's health, even their lives: the ending of all Covid-related mandates. Of those, the most injurious is clearly the termination of mask mandates almost everywhere, a massive gift to his base, and one that has given rise to a sixth wave here. 

Bruce Arthur writes:  

About a month after the province announced masking was no longer mandatory, Omicron is everywhere. With testing limited and hobbled, wastewater data shows there is more COVID in circulation than there was at the peak of the January Omicron wave. According to Dr. Peter Jüni, the scientific director of the province’s independent volunteer science table, Ontario is seeing an estimated 100,000 COVID infections per day right now, give or take. That number will continue to grow. 

As Arthur points out, the ending of the mandates was in essence a message to the public that they could relax their guard, that the government can handle anything untoward arising thanks to fictitious hospital and ICU space. If you have been to grocery stores or pharmacies of late (the only two public places I go to these days outside of the library), you will know by the number of maskless you encounter that Ford's message has been lustily received by many. 

Linda McQuaig has little but contempt for this tactic.

... the throng of anti-vaxxers, white supremacists and other assorted hate-mongers who held Ottawa hostage for three weeks are a key part of Doug Ford’s base, and he’s managed to quietly deliver them a victory while seemingly just lifting constraints because the COVID situation has improved.

Except that it hasn’t. And it’s absurd that the premier is trying to pass things off as fine when they’re not. Estimated infection levels are now almost equal to the Omicron peak in early January and hospitalizations across the province are up 40 per cent this week.

Ford insists that the province can “ramp up” to 3,000 ICU beds if needed. But all those beds won’t help without nurses to staff them, and the province has the lowest number of nurses per capita of any province in Canada.

None of these facts, however, are of any consequence to the base; all of us, however, will potentially pay the price for this pandering. For example, this morning we got a call from my brother-in-law who, despite being triple-vaxxed and religiously mask-wearing, has contracted Covid. Right now, it sounds like he has a very bad cold, but even if it does not progress beyond that, who is to say what his chances are of having to live with long Covid?

As I have written before, this entire pandemic has been been a sobering revelation of what we, as a species, are made of. While many have made great sacrifices, both personal and for the collective good, others in substantial numbers have shown themselves to be reactive rather than reflective, railing against any restrictions on their personal freedom, as if the latter were an absolute.

We are all the poorer for the Ford government's abandonment of its responsibilities to its citizens. Clearly, in an election year, politics trumps the public good.