Freedom's Forgotten Partner

We hear a lot about freedom these days. There was, of course, the infamous freedom convoy that occupied Ottawa for three weeks and disrupted the supply chain at border crossings. There is the incessant cry from Conservative Party leadership hopeful Pierre Poilievre about wanting to make Canada the freest nation on earth.  There are those who, even now (see video at the end of this post), are prancing about demanding freedom from vaccine and mask mandates, even though such mandates have been virtually eliminated. 

All such demands focus on individual liberty. Kofi Hope, however, has a different perspective on what constitutes real freedom. 

...the problem is our public discourse is dominated by a singular, limited view of freedom. Focused on our individual civil rights such as: the right to vote or freedom of religion. Rights regarding an individual’s ability to receive fair and equal treatment under the law, and not have government or others restrict their ability to make their own decisions.

But a free society is about everyone having a real ability to make their own life choices. 

And therein lies the problem. Due to social and economic constraints, many are not and probably never will be truly free, because 

freedom includes making a living wage, so you can spend time with your kids every day, not be forced to hustle between survival jobs. Freedom is being able to afford housing, without having to sacrifice groceries to make rent. Or being able to access the therapy you need to escape the cage of depression and anxiety.

An expanded notion of freedom occurred in the last century, Hope writes, reflected in a number of ways.

Immediately after Americans achieved a degree of equality under the law with the Civil Rights Act in 1964, civil rights leaders shifted their focus to amplifying work around fighting poverty. They knew Black Americans would never be truly free without economic freedom.

A few years later in 1966 the United Nations drafted a covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, outlining the other rights needed to have a free society, like the right to health care, labour rights and a basic standard of living.

And in Canada in 1964 Emmett Hall drafted a report that laid the foundations for Medicare in Canada, arguing that universal public health care including dental, pharma, mental-health and home care were critical components to a free society.

Obviously, the above reflects something much more than a commitment to individual freedom of expression and choice. Although he doesn't use the word, it seems to me that undergirding Hope's ideas is the concept of responsibility, freedom's forgotten partner in today's elevation of the ego as the purest form of liberty.

Inevitably, that forgotten partner begs the question a question: What are the duties of responsible citizenship? Do we live only for the fulfillment of ourselves and our loved ones, or does it demand the pursuit of economic and social justice/freedom for our fellow citizens? If the answer is the latter, then we must partake in and choose wisely in elections at the very least, and advocate for and support measures that will bring about greater equity in our society. And yes, that includes fair, progressive and representative taxation to help achieve that state.

So we have choices and decisions to make. We need to be humble enough to realize that freedom is hardly the absolute that some people make it out to be, an example of the latter seen in this video, posted by Caryma Sa'd at Peterburgers, a notorious eatery in Peterborough, Ontario that just reopened. 

Is that the kind of 'freedom' we, as Canadians, really want to align ourselves with? Or is there something much more mature, reflective and committed that we should be devoting our energies to?

. 

 

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.

 

The Big Gamble

 

Let me make it clear that I am not opposed to gambling. For those who can afford it, it apparently provides a measure of pleasure and a flush of excitement. It is not a world I relate to, but that is of no consequence.

What is of consequence is the number of people gambling who can neither afford it nor easily stop. Although the percentage of such people is small, it is nonetheless alarming that the opportunity to overindulge is becoming much easier. No longer does one have to make the trek to a casino. In essence, the casino is brought to you. Temptation is amplified. 

Of course, governments have long been involved in imposing what is often described as a tax on idiots. Think of the array of lotteries available for purchase at your nearest convenience store or Shoppers Drug Mart. (Oh, how many times have I waited in increasingly long queues at the checkout while some old parties ditheringly deliberate about what ticket(s) to purchase after winning $10 - the announcement "Winner! Gagnon! strikes fear and loathing in me.)

But I digress.

On April 4, what is euphemistically called iGaming Market went live. Now, those who are so inclined can gamble away their savings knowing they are protected from shady operators:

To play with confidence knowing their money and information is subject to robust consumer protection measures, players in Ontario just need to look for the iGO logo on an operator’s site.

Operators who have successfully been registered by the AGCO and have executed an Operating Agreement with iGO have met rigorous standards of game integrity, fairness, player protections, and social responsibility [?], enabling players to play with confidence.  

The apparent benevolence of Doug Ford's government in promoting this is undoubtedly welcome news to many. It is now easy to place a plethora of wagers on sports, play the slots, baccarat. etc. However, checking one site, BetMGM, I could find nothing that suggested the social responsibility cited above by iGO, and everything to induce you to become a member, including free credits!

Interesting, BetMGM is the entity being widely promoted by the 'great one', Wayne Gretzsky. 

Full disclosure: Gretzsky has been dead to me since his shameful, full-throated endorsement of Stephen Harper in 2015, despite the fact that the retired hockey player does not live in Canada and is not eligible to vote here. Indeed, it left many wondering about the number of concussions he had sustained during his career.

I can think of no other reason that he would stoop to shilling for the online betting group other than money. But doesn't he already have enough of that? 

I doubt that Walter Gretzsky, his late father, would approve of his son's promotion of such a dubious activity. Surely Wayne could find something worthwhile to trumpet rather than prostituting his name and reputation in this manner.

But, of course, this is all just my opinion, one of the advantages of operating a blog. Feel free to chime in with your own views anytime.

Forgiving And Forgetting?

                           

I read an article recently that posed the question of whether or not relationships can be repaired that were damaged or torn asunder over disagreements about Covid restrictions, mandates and vaccinations. In other words, once the pandemic is over or even now, when it is at least manageable, is it possible to forgive and forget?

One of the stories in the article discussed an ICU nurse on the frontlines of trying to save those who had fallen ill, only to be met by a reaction from her husband that has torn her marriage apart:

“He just invalidated everything I said. He tried to turn it around on me. Nothing I said mattered. I just felt like it was my job to convince him.”

Marie said her husband and his friends get most of their information from far-right sources, such as U.S. conspiracist site Infowars, Rebel News and Canadian anti-vax activist Chris Sky.

Things got progressively worse when the vaccine came out and Marie, as a health worker, was one of the first in her city to get a shot.

“All of a sudden, he told me I was only going to live for a couple more years.”

Clearly, such lunacy would be hard to live with. Even those trained to deal with afflicted people are having a hard time here. One such person is University of Toronto psychologist  Steve Joordens, who

has a close relative who is against COVID-19 vaccines and masks. Initially, he tried to talk to the person about it. But after a few difficult and heated conversations, he stopped.

“We cannot agree to disagree. So, we don’t talk,” he said, “which is tough.”

Further complicating things, this relative has power of attorney over Joordens’s mother, and decided that she would not be vaccinated.

“I had this real worry that Mom is going to die alone. That’s what horrified me,” he said. “That’s a hard thing for me to get over.”

Another psychologist,  Hilary Bersieker, suggests the difficulty lies in how we see those who challenged and flouted Covid protocols:

[G]etting vaccinated and following public health measures are caring and socially conscious things to do, whereas refusing the shot and flouting health rules might be selfish. The more such decisions are moralized, the harder they can be to get over...

That really is the crux of the matter for me. Although I have no friends or relatives who fall into the refusenik camp, if I had, I doubt that I would ever be able to truly forget what the crisis revealed about a side of their character/level of cognition previously unseen. In being so selfish and benighted, how could I ever really respect them or feel any affinity for them again? 

People who discount the science, content with fringe sites filled with fake information, have a lot invested in their stances, one that suggests ego triumphing over goodwill and community spirit. I leave you with the following Twitter video that exemplifies such individuals. The woman in it cravenly claims to be taking a principled stand.

Be sure to watch to the end.

 

 

Seeing Through The Facade

 

If you didn't care for the suggestion I made in my previous post about what to do with the Doug' Ford pre-election 'inducement' you received in the mail, you might want to consider the following letter-writer's strategy:

Can Ford’s rebate buy voter love?, Mar. 23

I just received my cheque for $340 for my vehicle sticker rebate. It might as well have come with a Please Vote for Me! sticker personally signed by the premier.

With all the shortcomings illuminated by the pandemic in long-term care homes, hospitals and schools (to name just a few threadbare social services provided by the province), Premier Ford plays his “Buck a Beer” game again.

With Ontario falling behind other provinces in preparation for the transition to electric vehicles, the Ministry of Transportation could have used those funds to accelerate construction of Ontario’s charging network.

We should all judge a political party/government by what it does in the first year of its mandate, not in the months leading up to an election.

Early on, Premier Ford’s Conservatives cancelled the final $1 increase in the minimum wage in their first year, only to reinstate it within the last year. They played hardball with the parents of autistic children and limited nurses and teachers salary increases to one per cent, then labelled them as “heroes” during the worst of the pandemic. They cancelled climate change programs watched our greenhouse gas emissions grow. Most recently, they finally agreed to a child-care deal with the feds — they were the last province to do so — because the optics of being the lone holdout weren’t good going to the polls.

I think I’ll take my $340, which comes from my taxes anyway, and give it to another political party, one which will replace this government and address more responsibly the many pressing issues facing the province.

Frank Goldthorpe, Toronto 

Another letter-writer  reveals what should have been done with this thinly-disguised act of political bribery: 

I have just received the rebate for my licence plate stickers. I was surprised to learn that the rebate is not only for the current sticker, which I purchased in January of this year, but also for the sticker I bought in 2020.

My cheque came to $460.

What a waste of taxpayer dollars!

I do not need this.

This money should have been directed to the services that cry out for more funding: health care, education, poverty, homelessness and so on.

Granted there are those who will need and welcome this, but that help should have come in some other way, not to people like me.

Let’s hope this election bribe does not have its intended outcome.

Blaine Adams, Burlington

It would seem that the upcoming June 2 election will be a contest not only of contending political parties but also of the collective character of the electorate. How many will sell their vote for $340+?

The Cheque Was In The Mail

Yesterday, retrieving the day's delivery from our mailbox, I really was not surprised to find an envelope from the Ontario government. It contained my licence sticker rebate for the past two years, plus another $100, the latter of which I do not understand. But it doesn't matter; I'm not keeping it.

With the Ford government's largesse now in full bloom (in May, child-care rebates will be issued now that a deal has been struck with Ottawa), it would seem that its beneficence will be unquestioned by millions of Ontarians on June 2, our provincial election date. I will be very surprised if the Ford government is not re-elected with a resounding majority. Even the workers of Ontario may line up with them, given Monte McNaughton's recent efforts at labour reform.

All will now seem right with Ontario-world until, of course, it isn't. Once the election is over and the provincial Liberals and NDP continue to carp impotently from the sidelines, the hammer will come down, all in the name of 'fiscal prudence.' Where the big cuts in spending will be made, I do not know, but given the annual revenue loss of at least $1 billion from eliminating the licence-renewal fee alone, only a naif would place his/her trust in 'Our Ford' to behave with justice and compassion. And people, both individually and collectively, will suffer as a result.

Which is why I am not keeping my renewal rebate. Before I proceed, let me assure you that I am not claiming any particular virtue here. My life is comfortable; the bills are always paid; I have a good pension. The modest way we have always lived has served us in good stead. Our financial future is secure. 

Obviously, many people are not in my position, but if you comfortable, you may want to consider redirecting Mr. Ford's bribes rebates to causes you deem worthy. My personal choices are the following:

Indspire, a national Indigenous registered charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Metis individuals, providing them with the tools to live successful lives. I previously posted about the organization,  and you can check out its website here.

Because so many are precariously housed or entirely homeless, I also lend support to an organization called Indwell, a registered non-profit whose mission is to build supportive housing. With vulnerable populations likely to suffer even more when the cutbacks come, this seems like a logical, legitimate choice for a charitable donation, and they are definitely making a difference.

Given the rampant nature of food insecurity and poverty, my final choice today is Food4Kids, which serves a large number of communities, both in Ontario and in the U.S. Its mission statement:

To provide healthy food for kids from at-risk, low-income or disadvantaged homes with limited or no food during weekend periods or during the summer months.

So there you have it. Not all who may read this are in any position to give. That I understand. But there are other things you can do, not the least of which is to turn out to vote on June 2, ideally for a party that you feel best represents your values and your hopes and aspirations for this province.

A Sunday Reflection.

Reading the Sunday paper, there were a number of topics I entertained for today's post, ranging from political leadership to the Trump-Putin relationship and how it pertains to the current world situation to Ontario Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca's ghastly rally in which he showcased both his new 'look' and his obviously stage-frightened young daughters

However, those weighty topics will take a backseat to possible future posts. Today's, prompted by a local example, is about social media, public shaming, and the errors we can make in being too lustily engaged in what we perceive as justice issues.

The local example pertains to a restaurant that has closed its operation in Parkdale, one of Toronto's poorer neighbourhoods (that phrase apparently not yet quite an oxymoron). Known as Vegandale, the chain ran a restaurant called Doomie's Toronto, its purpose to promote veganism. Due to Covid and post-Covid exigencies, the owner says it was not profitable to operate in Parkdale.

Part of the problem, it would seem, was the negative reception it and the chain got from some community groups, which 

opposed the chain’s “moral imperative messaging,” which suggested veganism was superior to other lifestyles.

While they were no doubt well-intentioned, it occurred to me that some people just have too much time on their hands, time that leaves them thinking they should be the arbiters of what others think and feel. Until coming across the article, I had no idea that food-shaming is a thing.

Which brings me to the larger topic: public shaming. It is something I have some experience in, a story I shall leave to the end of this post.

There is no doubt that when we write on social media or retweet or share a story about someone's apparent wrongdoing, we feel a sense of smug moral superiority. However, often the fuller context is missing, or social media is being used to create mischief or malignity, the consequences of which cannot always be foreseen.

A good documentary on this topic is to be found on Crave Canada called 15 Minutes of Shame, produced with the involvement of Monica Lewinsky, who has some experience in the subject:

If you do not have access to the documentary, I would highly recommend a book by Jon Ronson (who also appears in the above film) entitled, So You've Been Publicly Shamed. While it has been a few years since I read it, one story in particular stands out, but it is just one of many showcasing terrible consequences for the victims of social media attacks:

Two young tech guys were attending a computer convention. Both rather nerdish, during the keynote address one turned to the other and commented upon the attractiveness of the woman giving the address, saying something to the effect that she could certainly engage his 'hard drive.' Juvenile and predictable, of course, but unfortunately his comment was overheard by a woman sitting behind him. Knowing his identity through his nametag, she launched into a social media attack, averring how she felt 'threatened' by his remark. Things escalated, as they often do on social media, and despite his public apology to her, he was ultimately fired from his well-paying job.

I find it difficult to see the social justice in his fate. 

There are many people who deserve to be called out and condemned on social media, but I am concerned about how readily we (and I do include myself) jump at the opportunities to stigmatize people on social media.

I shall end with a personal story. Some years ago I posted about a small-business owner who had failed to pay back wages to one of her employees. It was quite a significant amount of money, and I felt good to play even a miniscule role in publicizing her dereliction. Several months later, I received a heartfelt letter from the woman's daughter, who was trying to eliminate as many internet references to her mother as possible. I won't go into the details here, but the reasons for her request were compelling, and I did as she asked. I removed the post.

There are foreseen and unforeseen consequences to all of our actions. Because of that, I think we all need to be a little more reflective and humble, especially in our social media behaviour. Life, after all, is about much more than getting an abundance of likes, retweets, and followers.

 

Our Unhealthy State

I am not one of those who chortles when political parties fall into embarrassments or controversy; such events only serve as fodder for opposing parties eagerly driven to earn more political street cred. Those antics do not benefit democracy.

I speak first as an Ontario voter, despondent at the meagre fare on offer June 2, our election day: Doug Ford's Conservatives, the Liberals, and the NDP, or, as I like to call the leaders of the latter two, Tweedledum and Tweedle-dee.

So the quality of leadership does matter regardless of political affiliation. And that especially includes the federal Conservatives, whose leadership choice in the fall puts under pressure whatever is left of its soul. Not to mention the pressure it puts on our own democracy. 

Being of a certain vintage, I remember well Progressive Conservative leaders such as Robert Stanfield and Joe Clark, both profoundly decent men who would today be labelled as Red Tories., Indeed, and I am not ashamed to admit it, I voted Conservative when these two men led the party. It was a time when viable political alternatives existed, alternatives that always serve as a much-needed check on whatever party leads the government.

Unfortunately today, and here I state the obvious, rabid polarization has robbed us of measured choices, the result being that democracy is deeply wounded.

A letter-writer reflects on what the choice of Pierre Poilievre to lead the Conservative Party of Canada would mean for both the party and the country. Neither is an appealing scenario:

I hope that prospective voters in the upcoming Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership read the Justin Ling column on the convoy background, but it is probably in the wrong newspaper for them to see it.

A significant number are apparently preparing to vote for Pierre Poilievre, glad-handing supporter of the Convoy of Anger as possible Prime Minister. Of course, he is already running for Prime Minister, believing that the interim step of leading his party is a foregone conclusion.

Some CPC MPs are so blinded by hatred of Trudeau that they will support any movement that attaches his name and a profanity to a sign, even if some of the so-called leaders have advocated violence, spouted conspiracy nonsense, and carried with them a ridiculous MOU.

There are two possible outcomes from Poilievre becoming CPC leader. Perhaps the most likely is more years of a Liberal government that always promises more than it delivers. The more dire consequence would be a cabinet full of convoy supporters.

David Steele, Regina, Sask.

Those who are eager for the implosion of the Conservatives, or any other major party for that matter, need to consider the implications fully before so lustily cheering on political demise.

An Interesting But Not Surprising Correlation

 

With apologies to Eleanor Rigby: All the stupid people, where do they all come from?

Pollster Frank Graves may have found a partial answer.

Unvaccinated Canadians are about 12 times more likely than those who received three doses to believe Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was justified, according to a new survey by national polling firm EKOS.

The poll found 26 per cent of those who identified as unvaccinated agreed the Russian invasion is justified, with another 35 per cent not offering an opinion. This compared to only two per cent of surveyed Canadians who said they had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and who supported the attack, and four per cent who offered no view.

Of those Canadians who received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the study found 82 per cent agreed with imposing tougher sanctions on Russia even if it meant higher fuel and food prices at home. Only 18 per cent of unvaccinated people concurred.

Eighty-five per cent of vaccinated people agree the country should take in Ukrainian refugees versus 30 per cent of unvaccinated Canadians.

 While 88 per cent of vaccinated Canadians agree Russia is committing war crimes during the widely condemned invasion, 32 per cent of unvaccinated people do.

Why the great disparity? The unvaccinated are apparently drinking from the same disinformation wells. Susan Delacourt writes that 

the same forces that were feeding people rubbish about vaccine mandates during the Ottawa occupation in February are now feeding them nonsense in March about Russia and Ukraine.

Graves is still working on tracking the sources of disinformation, but he cites YouTube as one of the big culprits so far.

A Phd in political science, Kate Graham, was doing some door-to-door canvassing in London, Ontario around the same time the poll was being conducted. Here is what she found.

Knocked on a door today. Person asked my thoughts on Ukraine. I expressed my horror at what is happening. Response? “Oh, you don’t know then. It’s all fake.” Went on to talk about lots of other issues: convoys, Trudeau, media. “CBC is the biggest terrorist going.”

  I asked where this person gets their information.

“The internet. TikTok. Joe Rogan.” What struck me about the discussion was how genuinely fearful the person seemed. They have kids. Had tears in eyes when talking about future of our country. Overwhelmed and afraid.

What is to be learned from all of this? In my view, as I was telling my wife last night at supper when talking about how continued masking may lead to confrontations with some, it is that our species is still in its infancy. When even the most common and least intrusive disease-prevention measures become a source of baffling tantrums, one knows one is not dealing with an evolved, mature life form.

Susan Delacourt puts it another way:

... conspiracy theories don’t just go away anymore; nor do they continue to exist on the fringe. Like the COVID virus, they’ve developed a remarkable ability to mutate — or “pivot,” in Graves’ words. While many of us see the pandemic and the war in Ukraine as separate, albeit world-shaking crises, the disinformation machine has managed to connect them.

 

 

Sometimes I Am In Awe

As bad as the world is these days, there are people in it that prevent us from complete despair. Maina Ovsyannikova is one such person. You will recall she risked the almost certain wrath of Vladimir Putin by holding up a sign on the Russian state broadcaster decrying the war in Ukraine. 

Although thus far Ovsyannikova has only received a fine, I have every expectation that in a country that threatens to send its citizens away for long periods of time for merely protesting the war in the streets, she will face much harsher punishment when the publicity around her brave deed dies down.  

“The war was the point of no return, when it was simply impossible to stay silent,” says Marina Ovsyannikova, after she protested Russia’s war in Ukraine live on Russian state TV. “I was afraid until the last minute that I won’t be able to do it.”

On Risk Calculation

Is Putin insane, or does he just want everyone to think he is? The world can't afford to get the answer wrong.

H/t Michael De Adder

A Short Follow-Up

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the many bribes Doug Ford is offering voters to win their support in June, here are two letters that offer interesting perspectives:

Ontario drivers to save $120 per year through Premier Doug Ford’s cancelling of licence renewal fees — but it will cost Ontarians about $1 billion worth of services. Tolls are to be eliminated on Highways 412 and 418 — offering savings to drivers in Durham Region.

Now, nurses are being offered $5,000 as a “retention” bonus — but still face wage caps under Bill 124.

As a senior I am asking you, Premier Ford, what pre-election goodies are you offering to buy my vote this June?

Norah Downey, Midland, Ont.

 Ford offers nurses ‘retention’ bonus, Mar. 8

Once again, Doug Ford continues his method of governing: too much too late. I am neither an economist, nor a financial expert. I retired from a medical business, where I employed 20 folks, who, at the time I left, had worked with us for eight and a half years, an astounding rate of employee retention for our field.

In part, this was due to higher-than-average wages for our industry, along with generous vacation periods, and automatic sick pay.

With the nurses, wouldn’t it be much more prudent to increase their wages, rather than throwing money at the situation, after which the nurses might leave, in any case?

Mel Tonken, Toronto

The question remaining to be answered is how many voters will Ford have been able to corrupt by June 2, our election day?

Counting The Ways

 

How much does Doug Ford covet Ontarian's votes? Let me count the ways.

In the run-up to this June's provincial election, the premier is sparing no expense (while at the same time eliminating huge amounts of revenue) to buy at least enough votes to ensure a return of his government. 

Democracy, for all of its vaunted benefits, can be ugly.

As I noted in a post last month, Mr. Ford is already spending over $1 billion in forgone revenue in his avid pursuit of our support. He assumes that the surrendering of these funds by eliminating licence plate sticker renewals and toll road fees will be pleasing to many; of course, no one has explained how that treasury gap will be filled, but my guess is, post-election, through 'fiscal discipline,' i.e., cuts.

But the blandishments don't end there. Through Monte McNaughton, Minister of  Labour, Training and Skills Development, the Ford government has become the friend of the worker. Many of the measures announced thus far have been long overdue, such as the January minimum wage raise to $15 dollars an hour, a previous Liberal government measure Ford scrapped after coming to office in 2018. Another is the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act which, on the surface, looks progressive. The Act says it

will guarantee a regular minimum wage for individuals employed by app-based services, such as ride-share drivers and couriers, which they will receive on top of their tips. It also makes it mandatory for workers to receive a recurring pay period and pay day while prohibiting tips from being withheld by platform operators.

“Every worker in the province deserves to earn at least minimum wage, and these companies have a responsibility—and they're going to be forced by law—to clearly tell workers on digital platforms how and when they're going to be paid.”

But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and Armine Yalnizyan smells sulphur, concluding it  

is actually anti-worker legislation. It denies basic worker protections to gig workers by creating a second tier of labour rights for the people whose employer says they are independent contractors, regardless of what employees say. That ensures these workers are unlikely to be paid minimum wage, get overtime, vacation or severance pay, be covered by occupational health and safety rules, or be able to organize for better.

The reason this legislation is actually regressive and will hurt gig workers lies in the fact that a decision recently handed down stated that 

an Uber Eats driver is already an “employee” under the Ontario Employment Standards Act.

Law professor David Dorey says that 

the finding of “employee” status led to an order for Uber to pay the courier close to $1000 for various violations of the ESA, including a failure to pay the minimum wage for all hours that the courier was “waiting or holding himself ready to work”. 

As I understand the proposed new Ontario law, only “engaged” time is counted as working, meaning the time that a driver is actively completing an order. As a result, an Uber Eats driver … would be entitled to less wages under the government’s new law than they are already entitled to under the existing ESA. 

Lest health-care providers feel left out of this 'largesse', Mr. Ford has something for them as well, not an increase in salary, but $5000 retention bonuses for nurses. An obvious bribe, it will be paid in two installments, one before and one after the election.

As well, and no doubt important for all those who "love freedom," is the pending elimination of all Covid-19 restrictions in Ontario. But at least our chief Medical officer, Dr. Kieran Moore, is asking people to be kind to those who still want to wear masks.

And I suspect that the final tier on the 'inducement' cake Ford is baking for his voters will come soon: the announcement of a deal with the federal government for $10-a-day daycare funding. Up to this point, the province has insisted it needs more than the $10.2 billion on offer, but I rather think that will not be an obstacle for too much longer, given the proximity of our election.

As always, a healthy democracy depends upon an informed electorate and viable choices; Ford is likely (and probably rightly) counting on a high level of ignorance, something that is increasingly becoming the norm. And given the unpalatable and largely unprincipled nature of the two main opposition parties in our province, we are effectively offered little to whet either our imaginations or our enthusiasms.

 

The Next Time We Complain About High Gas Prices

While I have no doubt that a great deal of oil-company profiteering is taking place these days, we really do need to put our complaints into perspective:

Heartbreaking photo by

@lynseyaddario @nytimes

all the world should see. 'Ukrainian soldiers trying to save the father of a family of four — the only one at that moment who still had a pulse — moments after being hit by a mortar while trying to flee Irpin'

Change-Of-Pace Friday: A Teachable Moment

Given all of the strife and anguished suffering of today's world, it really is necessary for our health just to sit back and have an occasional good laugh. I hope the following proves therapeutic for you.

Be sure to watch till the end:

Where The Truth Lies

Yesterday, a friend forwarded to me a video that is shocking in content, showing a tank running over and crushing a car. There was no accompanying information, so I did a search and found out that it is authentic. Fortunately and incredibly, it appears that the driver of the vehicle survived, as the video indicates. The event took place in Kyiv.

My immediate conclusion upon seeing this was it was a Russian armoured vehicle. The truth, however, is somewhat cloudy, as revealed by Snopes.

Although some of the videos that spread on social media early in the invasion were not real, this one has been vetted as authentic based on multiple sources who witnessed the incident. We do not have the name of the victim, and therefore don’t know how badly that person was injured.

France24 analyzed the videos taken of the incident and concluded that the tank appeared to be Ukrainian, although and [sic] cause of the collision was unclear. Ukrainian government officials accused Russian saboteurs of taking Ukrainian military gear and posing as Ukrainians. French TV news station TF1 Info hypothesized that the driver was Ukrainian and that the collision was an accident caused by the fighting.

None of this, of course, minimizes the horrific invasion and war currently going on in Ukraine. It does, however, serve as a reminder that in the fog of war, facts and critical thinking are more important than ever. 

Leadership Under The Microscope

 

I need ammunition, not a ride - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

With those six words, the Ukrainian President has put leadership under the microscope. His is the kind of courageous example that most people would long for in their politicians, but have likely long ago dismissed as a fond notion best confined to fantasy.

Juxtapose someone of great moral courage with a cruel dictator heedless of human life; one will inspire, and one will repel. And in the process you might just stir the world to at least a semblance of unity.

While everyone's attention is rightly rivetted by the terrible tragedy underway in Ukraine, one can also be heartened by the collective action much of the world is taking against the monstrous and calloused choices being made by Vladimir Putin. While not perfect by any means, the sanctions are the expression of strong condemnation of the war crimes underway. 

All of which has led to me thinking about the potential of leadership to unite a country. I would say that, especially in the early days of the pandemic, Justin Trudeau provided such leadership, appearing daily outside his cottage for updates, quarantining when necessary, and letting his hair and beard grow somewhat unruly, something many of us could relate to in those times. By these measures, he conveyed a message of shared pain and sacrifice. While obviously of an entirely different magnitude than that shown by Zelensky, it was what we needed at the time.

Then I think about the man who "wants to be your next prime minister," Pierre Poilievre. As described in The Breach, he is an ideologue who wants to replace social programs with a “tiny survival stipend”. It is a small part of his model of leadership that will inspire the mean-spirited and repel the fair-minded.

Althia Raj offers some thoughts on the options open for the Conservative Party as they ponder who should next lead them. Will they continue down the road to Trumpism or attempt to appeal to a wider part of the electorate?

The only declared candidate, Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre, is a polarizing figure with a “take no prisoners” attitude. He recently called Europe’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shockingly “weak,” embraced the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” and called COVID-19 public health measures a purposeful attempt by governments “to try and take away our freedom and give themselves more power.”

In the past, Poilievre has attacked the media, made derogatory comments about Indigenous peoples, left the door open to a niqab ban in the public service, and broken the election law. Elected at age 25, the career MP is a forceful opposition critic who has railed against elites, placed the blame for rising inflation and house prices at the feet of the Liberals, and promised more energy projects. His campaign launch through a social media video on Feb. 5 garnered more than seven million views on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. At least 26 Conservative caucus members have endorsed him.

While the vote-getting allure of the demagogue is tempting to many, others aren't so sure, seriously considering other potential candidate like Jean Charest and Patrick Brown, both moderates and from the progressive wing of the party. 

None of these choices inspire in the way that Zelensky does, but Poilivre's no-holds-barred strategy, which includes courting supporters of The People's Party, does offer some increasingly clear choices: 

In choosing a leader, the Conservatives must ask themselves what their winning formula will be —do they want to take votes from Bernier’s far-right party or from Justin Trudeau’s Liberals?