The end for Doug Ford may be just around the corner. At least, that's the way Bob Hepburn sees it:
Anybody who missed Doug Ford’s announcement on Oct. 22 that he plans to remove all proof of COVID vaccination requirements by the end of March missed what ultimately might be one of the most important days of his political career.
That’s because Oct. 22 might well be the day that the story of the end of Ford’s term as Ontario premier began to unfold.
With less than eight months before Ontario go to the polls, it seems increasingly possible that enough people are fed up with Ford’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that the outcome on election day isn’t all that hard to see.
In other words, barring major vote splitting between the NDP and Liberals, there’s a good chance the Ford-led Conservatives, who currently hold a tiny lead over the NDP, will lose the June 2, 2022, election — something unthinkable in the pandemic’s early days when Ford was riding so high in popularity.
On Oct 22nd, Ford announced that he would lift all COVID restrictions at the end of March of next year:
And then came Oct. 22, when Ford basically handed a golden victory to the 1.4 million Ontario adults — yes, that’s right, 1.4 million people age 18 and up — who still haven’t bothered to have at least one vaccination jab.
He did that by telling them to wait just a bit longer and they won’t even have to be vaccinated.
Calling it “a cautious plan” that will work, Ford said that, unless there are “concerning trends,” effective Jan. 17 you won’t need proof of vaccination to go to a restaurant, bar or sports facilities. Effective Feb. 7 you won’t need proof of vaccination to go to a night club or strip joint, and that effective March 28 all mask-wearing and proof of vaccination requirements will end for all other settings.
It was a slap in the face for the 10.7 million voting-age Ontarians who have done our part in fighting this public health crisis by hustling to get our vaccinations. Millions of us lined up for hours, waited in freezing weather, took time off work or drove long distances to get our jabs.
And now Ford was telling us the anti-vaxxers had won — that he really was on their side.
Ontarians are not happy with the way Ford has handled the pandemic:
A new study from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute found a huge drop-off in voter satisfaction over the past year in how Ford is handling the economy, health care and overall government performance.
"His government receives little praise on any issue in its purview,” the institute said, including its handling of housing affordability and giving “a thumbs down to Ford’s handling of seniors’ care.”
The reality is that Ford is leading a troubled government that has lurched from one crisis, one political issue to another without any seemingly coherent plan to right the province.
It’s a government that over the last three years refused to raise the minimum wage for 750,000 workers and now tries to sell itself as “pro-worker” because it — at last — has agreed to a base pay of $15 an hour.
It’s a government staring at continued chaos in long-term care facilities.
It’s a government that insists it’s an environmental champion, but pushes for unneeded highways and development on the Greenbelt.
It’s a government stubbornly fixated on cutting the deficit instead of on spending money to help those still facing pandemic-related financial crisis.
Doug knows that things have gone desperately wrong. His demise may be in sight.
Image: The Toronto Star
