UPDATED: A Tiresome Man

 

I know I'm not the only one who finds the incessant government of Ontario ads tiresome, just like the man behind them. Self-promotion paid for by the taxpayers, (last year about $111 million), they paint a picture of Ontario that would be in economic and criminal peril were it not for the 'wise' stewardship of Premier Doug and his gang. If you have ever seen them (it is hard to escape them in this province), you know what I am talking about.

One of the ads extols the fact that they have never raised taxes. In these times, I'm not sure that is something to brag about. Although it is a topic people don't like to think about, given the increasingly more frequent and severe natural disasters fanned by climate change, increased taxes are necessary. Fires and floods abound. 

This past week, for example, St. Catherines was hit by two major storms, both times resulting in flooded basements and much property damage.

Mayor Matt Siscoe, himself a victim, 

said the flooding has hit thousands of homes.

 "I've driven through entire neighbourhoods where every single house was dealing with it, and that was [before] Sunday night. There are entire neighbourhoods where the driveways are filled with construction debris and furniture that's been destroyed.

"There were cars floating down the street."

Every worker in his office has had their homes flooded, and most of them will need basement tear-outs, said Siscoe.

Siscoe is calling on the Ontario and federal governments to provide St. Catharines with immediate assistance, and help communities pay for upgrading critical stormwater infrastructure to better prepare for such devastating storms.

At least in Ontario, that plea is falling on deaf ears. as the provincial government has offered to send a cadre of  volunteers to assist with the cleanup, but no new dollars.

St. Catherines is just a local canary in the coal mine. Climate change is accelerating. This summer we are still contending with over 170 wildfires in northwestern Ontario, smoke from which a few short weeks ago made going outside next to impossible. A quick look at national and international news demonstrates that the dangers posed by climate change are worldwide and unrelenting.

For a long time now, Doug Ford has tried to shield himself with a cape from his Captain Canada guise, but that shtick is wearing thin. A new poll reveals that only 24% approve of his performance as premier, and 72% disapproving. Ford's most recent misstep, which I wrote about here, is just the latest one that displays how out of touch with the people he is, seemingly favouring only those that support unbridled development as the expense of everything else.

It is heartening so many are seeing through the Ford facade, a fact also attested to by letters to the editor. Here are three such missives:

Premier Ford wants to make Ontario safer. He’s doing all the wrong things

Doug Ford’s ‘Protect Ontario’ ads and messaging are a scam trying to hide the damage he’s doing, June 26

Premier Ford, please stop catastrophizing and fear mongering with your full-page safety ads.

If you want to make Ontario safer, I suggest the following: increase funding to our hospitals, provide more money for women’s support and shelters, make radar and speed cameras mandatory, stop tearing up bike lanes, bring back funding you have slashed for fighting forest fires, provide greater support for our Indigenous communities, provide more housing for the needy so they don’t have to pitch a tent, work and listen to those who support folks with addictions rather than against them.

And, lastly, repeal Bill 97 with its totalitarian undertones, which more than anything else has created a very unsafe Ontario for all.

Matthew Marosszeky, Aurora, Ont.

Come election time, Ontarians must show Ford and Co. the door

My stomach churns every time I see one of the Ford government’s ads in print or on television regarding how they are making Ontario stronger and safer.

The ads tell us they are making Ontario safer by not allowing encampments in public parks. Have they no shame, no compassion? They will not increase assistance rates or do anything to give the less fortunate a chance to improve their lives, yet they are spending thousands on advertising.

This is blatant abuse of public funds and a clear lack of interest in the welfare of our citizens.

Premier Ford and his lackeys have had their chance and have blown it.

Vote them out.

Mary Louise Reiman, Hamilton

DiManno shines light on the truth of Ford’s follies

You lost the battle of Billy Bishop, Doug Ford. Now, give the city back its seat, July 31

Star columnist Rosie DiManno gave a great summary of Premier Doug Ford’s many terrible projects, which we are all paying for.

And we are paying for those awful ads.

Thank you Rosie.

Martha Gould, North Bay, Ont.

Ford has long fashioned himself as a man of the people. The problem is the people he serves are not ones I, or countless others, know.

UPDATE: Perhaps this ad reveals a greater truth about Doug Ford's Ontario:

UPDATED: Meanwhile, In Ontario

 

Contrary to what its citizens may think, Ontario generally and Toronto specifically do not occupy centre stage in most Canadians' minds. Therefore, I don't often write about the province where I live; however, sometimes there is a confluence of national and provincial politics. The decision not to expand Billy Bishop Airport is one such instance.

Although I do not live in Toronto and visit it as infrequently as possible, I was almost jubilant when I learned that the Carney government had said no to power-mad premier Doug Ford's intention to expand the airport to accommodate jets. A city with a history of blighting its waterfront with towering condos that block views and access to Lake Ontario, it was heartening that city residents rallied in force against Ford's plan, which would have seen the expropriation of parkland and Toronto Island land to allow for those jets. Esthetics aside, it would also have meant exposure to much more toxic pollution for anyone living nearby, since jets expend a great deal of fuel both taking off and landing. 

Nonetheless, the Ontario government is unwilling to admit defeat. And that refusal also reveals what it thinks of those who actively engage in their democratic rights.

Blasting the federal government for listening to “a small fringe group in Toronto,” provincial Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria insists the Billy Bishop expansion is not dead. 

“We’ve seen the federal government here listen to a small fringe group in Toronto, but we, as the province, will continue to push forward on modernization of this airport because it’s the right thing to do and it makes sense,” he said Tuesday at an unrelated announcement in St. Thomas.

Sarkaria's thoughts epitomize how this government exercises its power. It operates on the principle that it knows best about all things, and voters have only to accept that 'truth'. Such is reflected in the fact that prior to the decision, Ford disempowered Toronto as one of the tripartite partners in the operation of the airport. The city lost its authority through provincial legislation, and there is clearly no desire for the Ford government to reflect upon its decisions.

Perhaps provincial NDP leader Marit Stiles says it best:

“This premier’s obsession with Toronto has gone on long enough. Minister Sarkaria referring to the people who opposed this project as a ‘fringe group’ is a pathetic insult to the tens of thousands of people who fought back against this ridiculous project,” said Stiles.

“Doug Ford didn’t get his way, and his ministers are lashing out at constituents for using their democratic rights. We don’t need jets in the middle of Toronto. Bill 110 is still law, and Doug Ford has given himself the power to do whatever he wants with Little Norway Park and the Toronto Islands. It’s time for the premier to end this land grab, kill Bill 110, and return these lands to the city of Toronto.”

Is the expansion of Billy Bishop dead? That remains to be seen, but, as Theo Moudakis reminds us in the above editorial cartoon, three federal byelections are pending. With Toronto having so many Liberal MPs, the results of those byelections will determine whether Mark Carney continues with his majority.

As always, politics being what it is, I believe it is wise to exercise a degree of cynical caution about the course of future events.

UPDATE I thought a few comments from Globe and Mail readers might be a useful illustration of what people think of Mr. Ford:

The Ford government is increasingly becoming disconnected from reality. They’re so self-absorbed and arrogant that they’re unable to acknowledge reality. Calling tens of thousands of Torontonians, and the silent majority who did not want this expansion, a “small fringe group” is language straight out of the Trump playbook and the reaction of a child. It’s pathetic and sad to watch.

 Wake up Premier Ford, this is definitely NOT a small fringe movement.

I was chatting today after golf with 11 other golfers in our group, one had not heard about the issue, the others who pan the political spectrum all spoke up in favour of the Federal ban on the proposed 10 fold expansion of the Island airport.

I live in the north of Toronto, and am steadfastly agin the proposed huge expansion, Reasons are many, including > heavy traffic congestion already in the area, (it takes around 25 mins by free shuttle from the CP Royal York to the airport).

> heavy erosion of Toronto's lovely waterfront and islands via 10 times more airplanes, mainly jets, together with their noise and pollution.

> the fact that Hamilton airport can be dramatically expanded, and just needs a GO train into Union, which could take maybe 30 mins, similar to the bus ride from the Fairmont. Further Hamilton airport is ideally located in regard to the population of the Golden Horsehoe, (Hamilton, Burlington, KW, London etc).

So Premier Ford, please wake up to reality....and if you do not believe me, do a phone MR Study. Oh wait a second, don't put that on the taxpayers tab.

 

I'm a Montrealer, but I visit Toronto a few times a year and the Islands are the best part of your beautiful city. Multiplying the traffic of Billy Bishop would ruin so much of your waterfront and parks, and the UP Express makes it very easy to get to Pearson so the expansion is not needed

 

UPDATED: Summertime

 

"Summertime, and the living is easy", or so goes the song. With the Ontario legislature rising for for an almost five-month recess after having sat for a gruelling 29 days this spring, this will surely be the case for our MPPs. For the rest of us, maybe not so much.

Clearly, Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives prefer the natural heat of the summer to the sauna-like conditions provided by opposition parties at Queen's Park:

The 148-day recess — after MPPs sat just 30 days since an unusually long winter hiatus — has opposition parties accusing Ford of avoiding scrutiny over controversies like student loan cuts and his purchase of a $28.9-million jet dubbed the “gravy plane.”

“This government can’t get out of this place fast enough because we are calling them to account every day,” New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles said Tuesday after grilling Ford in question period over affordability issues, branding him “out of touch.” 

 Green Leader Mike Schreiner scoffed at that rationale to justify a five-month break.

“They directly interfered in Toronto elections back in 2018 so it’s BS,” Schreiner charged, referring to Ford’s move to cut the size of Toronto city council before that year’s municipal vote. 

“The only reason we’re not here is Doug Ford can’t take the heat,” said interim Liberal leader John Fraser, who trolled Ford over the jet in the legislature by handing the premier silver pilot wings to pin on his lapel.

My guess is that Ford thinks this long recess will heal all wounds, the kinds that he has inflicted by his dictatorial style of governance. And yet to anyone who cares about democracy and holding our representatives to account, this is a flagrant and deep insult, one many of us will not forget. 

We cannot forget, for example, being saddled with an inept and corrupt government, (will the RCMP investigation, which will reach its three-year mark in October, ever end?). 

We cannot forget that here is a man with such a parochial vision that he governs like the mayor of Toronto. Here are some of his 'achievements' :

• bike lane removals, 
• the pending expropriation of land for an expanded Billy Bishop Airport, 
• the removal of speed cameras in school zones, 
• the closing of the Ontario Science Centre, 
• the shady deal to get a luxury spa built on the waterfront

And as the premier, Ford has presided over 

• schools in crisis
• growing homelessness and addiction
• hallway medicine
• downloading that has left municipal taxpayers barely hanging on
• tunnel-under-highway schemes that would cost countless billions
• an expensive purchase of a jet, later rescinded after widespread outcries
• gutting the OSAP program, leaving many students in precarious positions
• etc. etc.etc.

The voting public has granted Ford considerable leeway, given his Captain Canada schtick, playing Mark Carney's pitbull against the deranged Donald Trump, but after a certain point, that persona grows old. 

One of my biggest beefs is the massive spending of taxpayers' dollars on how well Ontario is doing in protecting jobs, making life more affordable, etc. to the tune of at least $103 million in 2025. They are a regular feature of ads during newscasts and a multitude of other broadcasts. *

Marit Stiles, the provincial NDP leader, offers this withering assessment of the Ford regime and its sad record:

They say you can run but you cannot hide. One hopes that those who oppose this government will hold it to account, both within and without the legislature.

* UPDATE: Here are some letters to the editor that attest to Ontarian's dismay over the ads:

‘Truth in advertising’ should apply to Ford government

The Ford government’s relentless marketing machine, May 30

I couldn’t help but read the full-page advertisement the Ford government recently placed in the Star regarding Ontario’s bail system. At the bottom of the page there was a small message: “Paid for by the Government of Ontario.” I’ve heard that phrase used frequently in the government’s radio ads, too. It strikes me that, in fact, the ads were ultimately paid for by Ontario taxpayers. I believe this material should instead indicate that it’s been “Paid for by the Government of Ontario on behalf of the taxpayers of Ontario.”

Richard Kadziewicz, Toronto

The Ford government is misusing taxpayer dollars by purchasing what are clearly campaign ads. These ads should be paid for by the Progressive Conservative party. We need a provincial government that’s willing to ensure every Ontarian has access to safe shelter, healthy food and high-quality health care.

Marcia Zalev, Toronto

It seems I can’t watch a Blue Jays game or turn on the radio or even go to the movies these days without seeing or hearing these Ford government ads. Just how much are these adds costing our province? And by the way, the disclaimer should read: “Paid for by the taxpayers of Ontario.” Shame on Premier Doug Ford for squandering our tax dollars.

Mary Lou Calce, Toronto

The Ford government needs to stop spending Ontario taxpayers’ money on advertisements touting how well the province is ostensibly doing. It seems whenever I turn on the television, I see another commercial telling us how successful the Tories have been on housing, jobs and the economy. I don’t need expensive TV ads trying to convince me everything is going well. The money should be directed toward essential public services instead. Education and health care are facing real pressures. Schools in Ontario are stretched thin and classrooms are overcrowded. Our hospitals continue to struggle with staffing shortages and long wait times. These are the areas in which taxpayer money could make a meaningful difference. Government advertising should provide necessary information to the public, not serve as a marketing campaign. When I see these commercials, I don’t feel reassured; I feel my money is being wasted. Ford should focus less on self-promotion and more on funding the public services Ontarians rely on.

Lee Hull, Godfrey, Ont.

I read with interest a letter to the editor written by Lee Hull of Godfrey, Ont. This letter, which is critical of the Ford government’s relentless advertising campaigns, should be republished on a daily basis so that more Ontarians are made aware of how Ford is wasting our tax dollars. I’d like to know how much is really being spent on these ads that serve only to pat the PCs on the back. As Hull notes, the premier should be spending that money on improving provincial services instead.

Judy Worsley, Toronto

Bears And Ad Hominems

 

It has been said that wounded bears can be particularly dangerous. They can lash out and put others in peril. Their rage often knows no bounds.

Something similar unfolded in the Ontario legislature this week. After a bruising week, our 'esteemed' premier, Doug Ford, was the wounded bear. Feeling very hard done by after reversing his decision to buy a $30 million jet, a reversal he attributed to not having more effectively communicated his need for the "gravy plane", he was particularly sensitive in the legislature on Thursday, resorting to that lowest of insults and violations of logic, the ad hominem.

Questioning him about the controversial Freedom of Information changes the latest omnibus bill contains, MPP Stephanie Smyth was the target of the bear's rage:

Said Smyth after the attack:

"You shouldn't talk to anybody that way," she said.

"There's a standard of decorum, of how you act. When we get in (the chamber) and we talk about issues and we ask questions, you don't go personal, right? That's not the place. You be parliamentary. You be classy. And that's not what is happening here with this premier at all."

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner say Ford needs to say sorry.

"What the premier said was so personal and so demeaning and so beneath the office of the premier that I believe the premier should apologize," Schreiner said.

Chubby Checker once famously asked in a song, "How low can you go?' 

The answer to that question as it pertains to Mr. Ford is still pending.

From Canada's Industrial Heartland

 

While I hardly expect that Ontario should garner much sympathy from the rest of Canada, every so often I can't help but write about our poor state of politics. Led by "Captain Canada," Doug Ford, the legislature spends far more in recess than it does in session. I suspect our 'leader' finds it an irksome impediment to whatever he does with his time, given his Progressive Conservatives command a clear majority that certainly puts a damper on accountability. That is, until he does something that provokes widespread public outrage.

While there is much to condemn in this heavy-handed government's rule, it wasn't until Ford's recent purchase of a $29 million jet that public hackles were raised. As a result, Ford has reversed his purchase, but even now he insists buying it was the correct choice; as with most hubristic politicians, Ford claimed it was not a failure of policy but rather a failure of communication. He didn't do enough to prepare the public for his extravagance.

Well, many people are having none of his nonsense about what has been dubbed his "gravy plane". The following letters to the editor amply attest to this:

Time for a premier who puts Ontario first

This is a typical Doug Ford move. He appears to be driven by self‑interest and a desire for personal attention.  This runs from ordering speed cameras to be removed, mixing up Toronto’s street traffic and  removing bikes and walkways, totally ruining Ontario Place, stating that he’ll expand the island airport for larger planes and spending millions on a new plane to fly himself around. Earlier he was only interested in building new country roads and pulling down country greenspace in order to build expensive homes. None of this does anything to improve Ontario.

Ontario needs intelligent improvements for Ontarians, Canadians and visitors. It’s time to make political changes.

Chris Andrews, Vaughan, ON

Doug Ford the salesman

Ford says Ontario has sold controversial private jet at no loss, April 22

Well, done, Doug! The plane is gone. Now you should terminate the island spa agreement and return Ontario Place to the public, remove the traffic calming barriers being installed in school zones and restore speed cameras. Next, ask your construction buddies to return any money regarding the Ontario Science Centre property along with  refunding any money spent on studies for the tunnel under Highway 401. Only then will it really feel like you have listened to the people. And, oh, one more thing … let Toronto voters decide on the future of the island airport.

Carolynne Canham, St. Catharines, ON 

There was no justification for a private jet for Ford in the first place

How did Doug Ford justify spending nearly $30 million dollars of taxpayer money on his own jet in a province where most locales can be reached on a propeller plane in one hour? And most northern communities don’t even have airports that support a jet!

At a time when our medical care is compromised and our school system is crumbling this huge expense, not just for the purchase of the jet but also for its maintenance, cannot be tolerated by taxpayers.

At least Ford heard the outrage and reversed course.

Ford never campaigned on the promise to buy himself a jet.

Dianne Ness, Toronto

I find it an incredible coincidence that after eight years of Premier Ford in power, the first time he raises the issue of jets using Billy Bishop airport coincides with his now quickly reversed decision to purchase a taxpayer-funded private jet, to the tune of $28.9 million.

Some estimates for the infrastructure needed to allow jets at Billy Bishop will cost in excess of $1 billion.

Ontario taxpayers deserve transparency. Just whose interests are actually being served by expanding the island airport for jets?

At least the premier did the right thing and grounded his jet.

Norm Di Pasquale, Toronto

The problem with winning three majority governments is that you think you are invincible. Ford fatigue has begun to set in. Perhaps it is time for the premier to do some serious, sober soul searching about seeking a fourth term, as he has recently mused about. 

SOS From Ontario

 

As a resident of Ontario, I confess to being disenchanted these days. After Doug Ford has won three successive elections with very substantial majorities, he seems untethered, his megalomaniac plans substituting for competent governance.  

There is, of course, his preposterous plan to build a tunnel under Highway 401, but there are also other ideas that merit ridicule, not sober consideration, such as building an artificial island upon which to build construct a new convention centre for Toronto; he is also keen on extending the local airport (Billy Bishop) to accommodate jets, despite the fact it is a plan widely opposed by those living downtown. 

Ford is also considering opening the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes to solo drivers in 'off peak hours' (whenever that might be in perennially-congested Southern Ontario). As well, citing fiscal constraints,(after eliminating a multitude to revenue sources), he has abruptly cut OSAP aid for university students. Especially worrying for those who value transparency in government, the premier is now in the process of crippling freedom of information requests by excluding cabinet records and government 'business' conducted on personal cell phones. And, of course, there is the long-standing RCMP criminal probe (eight years and counting, I believe) into the Greenbelt scandal. Of his lengthy recesses of the legislature I will not even speak.

I have been wondering of late whether or not people are tiring of his populist poses. If letters to the editor are any measure, there is a sliver of hope that people are beginning to understand that bluster and wild schemes are not a substitute for proper government:

Ontario to make premier, cabinet ministers’ records secret as it tightens FOI laws, March 13

The Conservative Ford Government has plans to exempt the premier and cabinet from freedom-of-information (FOI) requests which would deny the public access to documents held by the office, and signatures upon agreements relating to economic, financial and corporate contracts. The EV agreements the public would love to review will certainly never be made public. With the legalities carried out within the Legislatures and NDAs,  much has been agreed upon and held deep within the shadows of conservative backrooms and corporate parlors.

Ontario is truly for sale folks, and we will never know who the new owners are, what agreements were signed and if financial largess has passed into political party hands.

Steven Kaszab, Bradford, ON 

A premier who fears FOI is a premier with something to hide

Once again, Doug Ford is moving Ontario towards autocracy and non-accountability. A premier who fears Freedom of Information is a premier with something to hide. Here is the litmus test: is this a power you would want every party to have? How would Ford have responded if former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne had made this proposition? Something dirty is afoot. And blaming the Chinese government is just a tactic to avoid accountability. People should be horrified by this. 

Elaine Jackson, Mount Albert, ON  

Premier Doug Ford has stated his government should be exempt from releasing documents, government records, etc., under the Freedom of Information Act. Amongst his arguments for is the fact he receives 1,000 calls per day about very personal problems and says he feels like a psychologist trying to solve everyone’s personal issues. Therefore, he will not release personal information about people’s lives.  Ford should make  use of an official government phone and  use  his personal phone only when engaged in the role of “psychologist.”

Mary Morrison, Mississauga, ON 

Are HOV users legitimate ride-sharers?

Ontario wants solo drivers to use HOV lanes outside rush hours, but experts doubt it will speed up traffic, March 17

Until the creators/supporters of HOV lanes presents conclusive evidence that the majority of vehicles using HOV lanes are doing so as legitimate ride-sharers the concept of HOV lanes should be considered a sham and a waste of valuable pavement.

Robert Woodcock, North York, ON

While the machinations of Ontario politics may be of little interest to those living elsewhere in Canada, the province surely offers an object lesson for all whenever their next provincial elections may be.

A Vexing Plague

Stupidity and ignorance are things I spend a great deal of time thinking about. Although the conditions know no national boundaries, I find the Americans easy to single out for their profound inability or refusal to think. But here at home, the same condition, although less widespread and deep, is also to be found. We see it reflected in our leaders, who frequently ignore empirical evidence with no negative impact on their standing with the masses. Doug Ford, Ontario's premier, is a good case in point.

Ford, ever the populist, has declared war on speed cameras, promising legislation to ban them, dismissing them as ineffective and mere cash grabs to augment municipalities' coffers. 

Despite study findings and the opinion of police associations and municipalities to the contrary, Ford said speed cameras don't slow people down...

Others beg to differ. 

Automated speed cameras have reduced speeding around Toronto school zones by nearly half, according to a new study.

The study, published in the journal Injury Prevention and led by researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Metropolitan University, looked at the effect of automated speed enforcement cameras deployed across 250 school zones around Toronto from July 2020 to December 2022.

Looking at speeding data in these areas before and after speed cameras were installed, it found that cameras have reduced the proportion of speeding vehicles in urban school zones by 45 per cent. 

While the proportion of drivers going 10 km/h over the speed limits decreased by 74 per cent, the study found the proportion of drivers going 15 km/h over the limit decreased by 84 per cent. Drivers going 20 km/h or more over the limit fell by 88 per cent, the study found.

Statistics, indeed, most things empirical, mean nothing to people of Ford's ilk, so 20 Ontario mayors are trying to get him to change his mind with compromises and the opportunity to save face.

"For most of us, the intention has always been to install cameras in school zones to protect our most vulnerable residents — our children," says the leaders' letter.

"A total ban on ASE would reverse years of progress on safety in school zones. It would place more pressure on police, increase enforcement costs, and most critically, endanger lives," it says.

The letter lists compromises the municipalities are willing to make to keep ASE measures in school zones, including the following:

• Warning tickets for a first-time offence.
• Setting cameras at a reasonable threshold of speed before a ticket is issued.
• Cameras only operate during school and community use times.
• Blackout on additional fines for seven days after a driver receives the first ticket to allow them to change their behaviour. 

Perhaps Burlington Mayor  Marianne Meed Ward said it best:

"Our letter is really our plea. It's an SOS to the premier. A 'save our schoolkids.' When you get hit by a car at 30 (km/h you have a chance of surviving that. When the speeds go to 40 or 50, your chances of surviving that impact drop dramatically," she said.

Will any of this be enough to move the Premier? I have my doubts, but there is something else that might persuade him to change course. 

A Canadian Automobile Association South Central Ontario survey, conducted by market researcher DIG Insights and released Wednesday, finds 73 per cent of respondents support automated speed enforcement in certain areas.

The survey, which was conducted from March 7 to 19 and surveyed 1,500 Ontario drivers 18 or older, also found 76 per cent of respondents believe cameras deter speeding. The survey's margin of error is listed as +/- two per cent. 

Populists prefer to be popular with the electorate. Whether the engaged element of the citizenry have enough influence carry the day in the midst of wide scale ignorance, however, remains to be seen.

In Ontario, We Are Not A Happy Family

Here in Ontario, it is Family Day, but all is not well. We have an unnecessary election pending, the premier has cloaked himself in his Captain Canada regalia, and he has done everything he can to buy votes, plunging the province into even deeper debt while education, housing and healthcare, to name but three deep, go vastly unnourished.

Yet according to polls, despite his malfeasance, Mr. Ford will be romping to another electoral victory, thanks both to the current crisis with the Amerikans and the fact that the march to the ballot box is in the dead of winter. Apparently, despite all the talk about rising patriotism and supporting our country, voting is not part of the calculus, with pundits predicting a very low turnout.

Come February 27, heedless Ontarians will undoubtedly and, unfortunately, get the government they deserve.

The only bright spot in this morass of indifference is the knowledge that not all are fooled, as evidenced by these letters to the editor:

Well, it seems clear from election polls Premier Doug Ford will be re-elected in a landslide even though most Ontarians were not happy with the early election. He’s done a masterful job. The hat slogan “Canada is not for sale,” $200 cheques before an election and mentioning possibly 500,000 lost jobs likely all contribute to his strong poll numbers. He has rushed to Washington to plead Ontario’s case regarding tariffs with seemingly little success as the U.S. has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on our steel and aluminum. He’s promised billions for infrastructures and a tunnel under Hwy. 401 but has completely forgotten to support our health-care system, end the long wait times in ERs. A four-year mandate to fight tariffs seems to be in the cards. Voters are forgetting his health care and housing failures, feeling he’ll fight for them even though it’s the federal government that has the power to counter the U.S.A.‘s tariff attack.

Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor

I have just seen Premier Doug Ford’s latest campaign ad, and I am livid. The Premier’s Washington, D.C. visit was supposed to be about defending Canada’s interests, but instead it appears Ford’s main focus was creating sparkling footage for a campaign ad. It’s bad enough that the Premiers emerged empty-handed from their meeting with mid-level White House staffers, but Ford’s new campaign ad rubs salt in our collective wounds. In the voice-over for the ad, Ford repeatedly puts America first — “made in the USA” before “made in Canada,” pride in the work of American workers before the work of Canadians, and the push for his Fortress Am-Can. That’s right, even the name of Ford’s economic plan puts America first. Where’s your hat, Doug? Did it blow off while you were busy bending the knee to Trump?

Carol Kroeger, Ottawa

Before You Vote

 If you live in Ontario, you will know that on February 27 we have the opportunity to participate in a wholly unnecessary election. It was called by Premier Doug Ford to exploit his Captain Canada persona, insistent that he can only deal with Trump's threats with a strong, new mandate. (We are to ignore the fact, of course, that Trump does not deal in subnational jurisdictions, and that Ford has a strong majority government already.)

As well, he knows that a mid-winter election almost guarantees a low, perhaps record low, turnout, and opposition parties that have not even nominated candidates in all ridings.

Of the contempt he is showing to the citizens of Ontario I will not even speak. However, an informed vote means having as much information as possible. Hopefully, the following sheds light on both the duplicity and the character of Ford:

The Government We Deserve?

I can't say that I have ever really subscribed to the above quote by Thomas Jefferson, largely because politicians misrepresent themselves all the time.  One may vote with a certain hope for better things based on their promises, but those promises rarely materialize. Because of that, truly informed decisions are difficult to arrive at. (Of course,  the recent U.S. election proves the exception, with voters willfully embracing the chaos agent known as Don Trump.)

However, I believe there is much truth in the quote when manifestly unfit governments continue to ride high in the polls and repeatedly get re-elected. Such seems to be the situation in Ontario, where Doug Ford, despite his grave fiscal and ethical malfeasance, enjoys ongoing popularity.

This brief CBC report on the auditor general's report gives some insight into the shady and fiscally profligate practices of the government:

In addressing the auditor-general's report on the government, Edward Keenan writes of a theme that seems to permeate the Ford government's decision-making approach, one found in the AG's report:

“Without proper planning.”

That was her description, in Tuesday’s annual report, of how the decision to close supervised-consumption drug sites was made.

On supervised injection sites, the auditor notes harm reduction strategies that prevented 1,500 deaths from overdoses are being discontinued without proper planning or impact analysis. Which sounds like a roundabout way to say people are likely to die.

But six years into the life of a government that has always shown an eagerness to fire before it aims, it seems more like an all-purpose description of The Doug Ford Way.

The report contains plenty of other language that might seem jolting when applied to government actions, but by now seems overly familiar. The decisions to issue minister’s zoning orders (or MZOs)were “not fair, transparent or accountable.” The assessment process for the Ontario Place redevelopment was “irregular” and “subjective,” and “rules and guidelines … were not followed.” 

There are a few themes there that are at the forefront of Spence’s report. Decisions seem to be made quickly and on impulse, according to either the political whims and vendettas of the premier or the backroom desires of developers and corporate interests. Traditional accountability checks or analysis of impacts are discarded. Rinse, repeat.

Keenan asks the question of where all of this leaves us. My answer is, unfortunately, without any viable alternative that will cure people's addiction to the populist premier. When she was first chosen as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, I harboured some hope that Bonnie Crombie might prove to be that viable alternative.  But as I wrote in two previous posts, one in June and one in November, she really only promises more of the same fiscal recklessness in her desperation for electoral support. In in her latest ploy for popularity, she promises to axe the (carbon) tax. 

I’d rather cut your income taxes permanently than cut you a rebate cheque.”

The rebate remark was a dig at both Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford, who have promised cheques of $250 and $200 respectively to defray the high cost of living. 

Perhaps when they do go to the polls, the people of Ontario can be forgiven for voting for the same old thing, since that is all that will apparently be on offer.