Kim Jong Un Comes To Canada

Well, at least his spirit has. Kim, you may recall, despite the increasingly smiling face he presents to the world, is not a man to be crossed. Just ask those who are the first to stop clapping at one of his military cult rallies. Or ssk his uncle what happened when he fell out of his nephew's favour. (Spoiler Alert - you can't ask them. They are no longer with us.)

Kim's success as a dictator derives from fear, a fear that is cultivated and sustained by a massive surveillance apparatus. And here in Ontario, or Fordlandia, as I like to call it, it would appear that the Doug Ford government has learned some quick lessons from the North Korean dictator's playbook:

The Progressive Conservatives fear some disgruntled MPPs are set to cross the floor to join the Liberals, the Star has learned.

That’s a key reason why Premier Doug Ford is increasing the threshold for official party status in the legislature from eight MPPs to 12, a senior source says. A single defection would give the seven-member Liberal caucus official status.

Based on careful surveillance, Ford's fears seem to be well-founded.

“There are at least two we’re concerned about,” a senior Conservative insider said, speaking like others from the Liberals and PCs on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal machinations.

“We’ve been watching this closely,” the PC source said, declining to reveal which MPPs are suspected of plotting to defect except to say that two are from the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“No less than seven members want to get out,” a third senior Conservative operative told the Star on Friday.

The fears are based on careful Kim-inspired practices:

Ford’s office closely monitors Tory members. Sources say they track who applauds in the legislature and watch for MPPs who do not quickly leap to their feet for ovations after the premier or ministers respond to opposition inquiries during question period.

“They keep tabs on everything,” said a fourth Tory .... Two party aides noted that speaking out in caucus meetings is also discouraged because they don’t want anyone to undermine team unity.

Another source of fear, as I noted the other day, is PC MPP Amanda Simard, who has grown increasingly vocal about her disenchantment over the reduction of French services in Ontario, touted as an austerity measure:
While the rookie MPP received permission from Ford’s office to publicly dissent on Facebook to help quell outrage among voters, she has not been seen at Queen’s Park since Wednesday.

On Friday a second Tory close to Ford said “we have not heard back from her.”

In my previous post, I suggested Simard will be facing a demotion as a lesson to others about speaking out. Surely it is the path that mentor Kim would follow, except were it in his hands, there would be no opportunity for rehabilitation.

Doug Ford - for the people, or at least those who give him unqualified, unconditional support.

The Idiot-in-Chief Tweets

But, as usual, he spouts arrant nonsense, designed to be cheered by the equally abjectly ignorant:

Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2018

A Spark Of Integrity

If one follows politics closely, it is easy to become quite jaded. On almost daily display are scenes of arrogance, condescension and the corrupting influence of power. We are reminded of those sorry aspects of our species regularly by Ontario's Doug Ford government, one I hesitate to label by any other name, as it seems increasingly to be a one-man show.

However, once in awhile we are reminded that there are still those who place principle over ideology and demagoguery, who realize their larger obligation is to the public good, not their political masters.

This was made evident earlier this week in the tale of Doug Ford's chief of staff, Dean French, a name you may have heard recently as the one who arranged for the firing from OPG of Alykhan Velshi, whose 'crime' appears to be his status as the former chief of staff to Patrick Brown.

French's latest foray into crossing lines has become public knowledge because of some brave insiders who reported his transgression to The Toronto Star.

Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff ordered senior political aides to direct police to raid outlaw cannabis stores the day marijuana became legal and to show “people in handcuffs,” the Star has learned.

The edict from Dean French — an unelected political aide — in two conference calls the morning of Oct. 17 met stiff resistance from staff in the community safety ministry and the attorney general’s office, said four Progressive Conservative sources familiar with the situation.

“We’re not a police state. We don’t have the right or the ability to direct police to do anything,” said one insider who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

Resistance, in any form it takes when dealing with overweening governments, is to be encouraged. The next ray of hope is reflected in Progressive Conservative MPP Amanda Simard, who has found the courage to criticize her own administration:

Last week, the Ford government announced it was breaking its election promise to build a French-language university, and axed the office of the French-language services commissioner. The government said the office’s responsibilities would be absorbed by the provincial ombudsman.

In a rare move, Progressive Conservative MPP Amanda Simard released a statement on her Facebook page saying she was disappointed by the cuts.

“You have an ally in me, and I will never let you down,” Simard said in a translated version of the post. She said the cuts “disappoint me greatly, and I share this disappointment and frustration today, having initially worked internally as much as possible to reverse these decisions.”

Simard is apparently one of the few truly bilingual members of the Ford government, and is also the parliamentary assistant to Ford lapdog and Francophone Affairs Minister Caroline Mulroney.

Why is this an example of the integrity and courage we all pine for in our politicians? Make no mistake about it: she will pay a heavy price for her independent thinking. People like Ford, often described as a bully during his one term on Toronto city council, expect unquestioning fealty from all their adherents. It is the way of the authoritarian, and examples must be set when people step out of line.

Expect a demotion for Simard in the near-future. But while she may lose influence, she has achieved something far more important. She has shown that resistance is never futile, that every defiant gesture is a refusal to submit to arbitrary authority. Such is the human spirit, not yet vanquished.

One hopes Simard's example and that of the insiders who refused to defer to Dean French may serve to inspire others in the time to come.

Well, This Certainly Did My Heart Some Good

WHO DID THIS?????? pic.twitter.com/6BDOM4lApu

— ALT- Immigration 🛂 (@ALT_uscis) November 19, 2018

Such Passion

Too bad we can't muster some of that in North America.

White Privilege On Steroids

While the Lord of the Flies criminality at St. Michael's College should upset everyone, especially the parents of students attending that prestigious institution, I find it telling that those same parents are blaming the media more than they are the school for these terrible events. Given that the tuition to this elite day school starts at $20,000, some moms, who no doubt are used to getting their way in most matters, seem to feel they should also have control over what the media reports:



I guess there are some things that even money can't buy.

Rejecting The Politics Of Expedience

A letter in today's print edition of The Star by Jack Gallop of Thornhill urges all of us to reject the demagogic politicians who expediently pander to our fears; instead, we need to heed the consensus position of climate-change scientists and act accordingly for the greater good:

For those of us who see the stark and convincing evidence that we are destroying our planet through human-induced climate change, the cry has gone out to governments to take strong action to reduce our carbon footprint before this planet we call home reaches the point of no return.

And, according to environmental science, that point is fast approaching.

But people vehemently protest when ideas such as cap and trade (a program that was working extremely well) or a carbon tax are initiated. We want action, but not if it costs “me.”

The Ford government prefers to tap into our fears and inherent self interest by stating that saving the environment will cost too many jobs and add to the cost of operating our vehicles and heating our homes. So they fight the very initiatives they should be supporting.

Rather than justifying inaction, it is government’s responsibility to lead the way in educating every citizen on the environmental emergency facing this and future generations. Instead they close their eyes to this inconvenient truth, saying they got elected on improving the economy so that’s their priority.

Nothing is more important than doing all that can be done to reverse the effects of climate change. And it is time for each citizen to insist that we are willing to inconvenience ourselves and contribute financially to government and private initiatives to save our planet.

Present and future generations will be grateful instead of cursing our stupidity and short-sightedness.