Democracy Under Ford (#2)

I struggled with finding a suitable title for this article which it seems may well be the start of a series of observations regarding the high-handedness of the new Ontario authoritarian regime so just went with the previous headline part2! Is it oppression, repression, authoritarian, bullying, despotism, simply high-handedness, all or just some of the above and if not will it become some or all of them? Time will tell but in the meanwhile here is a simple list of the actions taken by this regime in just the first month in power, it is to me a very scary foretaste of things to come.......

I will start with the pre-election actions that should have warned us of things to come.....

Ford announced his campaign would not provide the traditional media bus following him as he campaigned for the June 7 election but did produce a series of fake videos thus controlling the message and avoiding answering questions from the press. In recent days he has reinstated this closely controlled media presence by launching a new social media account to promote his agenda. A Ford campaign staffer, is the on-air presenter in the video which appears to be designed to limit questions from the press but is being paid for with taxpayer dollars..

Moving on this handy list was provided online by CTV News …....

June 29: Ford is sworn in as Ontario’s 26th premier at a boisterous ceremony at Queen’s Park. He promises his government will “blaze a new trail” and unveils his cabinet.

June 30: Newly minted Health Minister Christine Elliott announces that the province will no longer fund prescriptions for people under the age of 25 who have private insurance coverage.

July 3: Ford takes his first step toward dismantling the province’s cap-and-trade program while public-sector managers learn they are now subject to a wage freeze and review of their pay.

July 4: Ford’s government puts a number of laws passed shortly before the election on hold, including new regulations for e-cigarettes and putting a ceiling on ticket prices for concerts and sporting events.

July 5: The first official meeting between Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes place, with the two leaders appearing to be on different pages on the immigration file.

July 6: Ford calls for the federal government to take over housing and settlement services for people who cross into Canada illegally. A former president of the Progressive Conservative Party is hired as a special advisor to the province on health care.

July 9: The Canadian Press reveals that a $100-million fund for school repairs has been cancelled as part of the winding up of the cap-and-trade program.

July 11: Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt retires and the utility’s entire board of directors resigns. Ford had said repeatedly on the campaign trail that he would fire Schmidt and the board, which Ontario’s premier does not have the authority to do.

July 12: A throne speech lays out a sweeping agenda for Ford’s government, including expanding alcohol sales, lower hydro bills and fighting the federal carbon tax. Additionally, the province confirms its intention to eliminate the recently introduced sex-ed curriculum.

July 16: The province introduces a new bill to give it more control over executive pay at Hydro One as Education Minister Lisa Thompson says sexual education topics taught in classrooms this fall may not entirely mirror the reintroduced 1998 curriculum.

July 17: Ford taps former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell to lead an inquiry into the previous Liberal’ government’s spending and announces that sex ed will be subject to “the largest consultation ever in Ontario’s history when it comes to education.”

July 18: Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says a meeting with her Ontario counterpart Rod Phillips left her questioning whether the province has a plan to fight climate change.

July 19: Ford and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announce that they will work together through the courts to stop the federal government from introducing a carbon tax.

July 20: Carbon pricing, asylum seekers, marijuana legalization and the flow of alcohol between provinces are among the topics discussed as Canada’s premiers meet in New Brunswick.

July 24: The province says some federal funding earmarked for mental health initiatives will be put toward training police officers on how to appropriately deal with people with mental health issues. Ontario’s financial accountability officer says his office will look into the costs of cancelling the cap-and-trade program.

July 25: Legislation is introduced to end the months-long strike at York University and to formally repeal the carbon pricing program.

July 27: On the last day of registration for candidates in October’s municipal elections, Ford announces a plan to cut Toronto’s city council nearly in half while holding off on plans to introduce elected regional chair positions in the Muskoka, Niagara, Peel and York regions. Rumours surface that the province will let private-sector operators handle the sale of marijuana

In the few days since that synopsis was penned a lot has happened as the Ford wrecking crew continues to cut a swath across the province which I will attempt to briefly outline......

Ontario's new government will cancel the province's experiment with a basic income program, the pilot project, which reached full enrollment in April, was supposed to last three years.
The government will decrease the proposed Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program payments by 1.5 per cent.
The Progressive Conservative government's production of a TV-news-style video under the banner of "Ontario News Now" is a "pure example of fake news" that aims to undercut the pillars of democracy and muzzle media, political policy experts say. A day after the video was released to the public, PC members were criticized by the media for having political staffers clap during news conferences, effectively drowning out journalists’ questions. Reporters say this was a widely-used tactic during Ford’s election campaign.
The government refused to respond to the official opposition during question period Tuesday morning after an NDP member was accused of mocking the accent of PC MPP Kaleed Rasheed. Speaker of the House Ted Arnott at one moment also chimed in and said he could not hear the mocking of the accent even with his earpiece “volume cranked full blast.”

The fabricated outrage was about not what was said, but the tone of an comment not heard by most if not all but one Con MP, appeared to be an effort to stop debate about the Con efforts to cut the number of Toronto councilors. The proposed cut whilst apparently quite within the premiers power it would seem to show very little regard for democratic process.

And so the Ford Circus marches on with the clown in chief in full destruct mode.......






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