Thursday, June 18, 2020

Ford's Road To Damascus?


COVID 19 has changed a lot of things. Martin Regg Cohn wonders if it has changed Doug Ford. When he was elected, Ford posed as The Great Disrupter:

Basking in his election night triumph, the Progressive Conservative leader acted as if his own irresistible brand of personal populism had swept the province. Not that he’d won by default thanks to a protest vote against a tired Liberal government and voter distrust of the NDP.
“My friends, the party with the taxpayer’s dollars is over — it’s done,” Ford boasted back then.
Weeks later, his new PC government unveiled an unprecedented throne speech setting out an agenda of disruption and demolition of government operations.

Ford's mission was to upend just about everything:

Within months, Ford’s Tories had unilaterally dialed back promised health funding to municipalities, stoking outrage. They had arbitrarily revamped autism programs, sparking protests. And they had done nothing on nursing-home beds apart from reduce comprehensive annual inspections, setting the stage for disaster.
On police accountability, now in the news but back then a partisan talking point, the Tories staked out an unapologetically uncritical stance: “You can count on your government to respect the men and women of Ontario’s police services — by freeing them from onerous restrictions that treat those in uniform as subjects of suspicion and scorn.”

But when he began being booed at public events, Ford's tone changed. And, when the pandemic hit, so did his policies. However, the change may only be temporary. There are clues hanging in the air:

A good clue to Ford’s true thinking comes from his stubborn refusal — against all evidence and advice — to restore the paid sick days he eliminated before the pandemic. Or consider the disturbing findings revealed in the Star this week by Tribunal Watch, which detailed the stealth purge of Ontario’s quasi-judicial tribunals that hold landlords to account, hold a light to racism and help the disadvantaged maintain dignity — a reminder of the patronage stench that has long pervaded Ford’s government (despite his pre-election claim that “the party” is over).
Never mind the serene rhetoric on the surface, it is Ford’s underlying actions that count. They are a reminder of his early and ongoing agenda to change the province in his own image and ideology, rather than enact the change the province so desperately needs and wants.

We should soon know if Ford has had an epiphany on his road to Damascus.

Image: readingacts.com


6 comments:

jrkrideau said...

I get the feeling that the pandemic shocked Ford badly but it is not clear to me that it has altered a lot of his priorities in the longer term. He may have been dumped out of his cocoon of privilege enough to make his listen to some real advisors.

From a few things I have read, it looked like Ontario Gov't policy was being set by a very small number of PC advisors without much input from rank & file MPPs or civil servant. The Autism funding fiasco looked like one of these.

When one sees something like this There are now five former Ford government staffers working as lobbyists or publicists with for-profit long-term care providers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/more-ford-staffers-private-nursing-home-companies_ca_5edab7c6c5b61875909f5a50it is hard to know if the industry is in defensive mode, expecting a real Gov't attack or just wants to keep open some smooth lines of communications with Queen's Park.

My guess is that we can probably expect a bit of improvement in policy but no Epiphany.

Owen Gray said...

Given Ford's journey so far, jrk, I find it hard to predict what he'll do.

The Disaffected Lib said...

I think Ford showed his true colours yesterday when his government implemented an "ag gag" law.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/06/17/news/critics-say-ontarios-new-ag-gag-law-could-target-journalists-whistleblowers

Owen Gray said...

Not a good sign, Mound. We in Ontario wonder what will happen as the province eases COVID restrictions.

The Disaffected Lib said...

I have this nagging sense that people like Ford and Kenney are steadily chipping away at civil society. Sadly those who supposedly stand for progressive values choose to look the other way.

Owen Gray said...

I share your suspicion, Mound. People like Ford and Kenny see government as a problem. It gets in their way.