It was Jan. 29, I believe, the very first day of the current provincial election campaign. The London Police Service hosted an appreciation and awards banquet. And wasn’t it convenient for the premier that he was invited to speak to what Mr. Ford considered his peeps.
I guess he decided to take the opportunity to slam federal lawmakers and judges for being soft on criminals such as home invaders. And according to the Toronto Star’s Queen’s Park Bureau, Ford went way off script.
“God forbid they kill an innocent person,” Ford mused in front of a thousand police personnel and guests at the banquet, adding that he’d prefer that judges simply send home invaders found guilty of murder to the electric chair.
Apparently, despite Doug Ford’s claim to being the true defender of Canadian sovereignty, trade agreements and law enforcement, he has forgotten (or never bothered) to read Bill C-84. The free vote in the House of Commons, in 1976, abolished capital punishment from the Canadian Criminal Code.
“I don’t even go 25 years (without parole),” he continued at the banquet. “I send ’em right to sparky!” According the Star, the remark provoked audible gasps from the audience in London.
Then, Ford went further off-script and into deeper hot water, when he added, “I think the provinces should take over some of the Criminal Code (and) I want pro-police, hard-on-crime JPs (justices of the peace). … We have some terrible JPs, terrible judges that actually let these criminals back out.”
Where I come from as a journalist and a journalism instructor, that’s just plain contempt. Jailable contempt. I guess the premier thinks he’s immune. And perhaps he is immune from prosecution. But, may I suggest in these final two weeks before the Feb. 27 provincial vote, maybe he cannot remain immune to an informed electorate.
Or, with apologies to the screenplay writers of The Wizard of Oz, I suggest we “pay more attention to the man behind the curtain.”
Wasn’t it just five days after that, on Feb. 3, when the premier spoke to an in-camera group of supporters at his Etobicoke North campaign office? Again off-script, off-the cuff and on an unexpected recording, he was heard commenting on the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
“On election day, was I happy the guy won? One hundred per cent I was,” Ford gushed.
This is the same man who beamed proudly on camera in his role of so-called “Captain Canada” leading Canada’s premiers to Washington to stand up to Trumps tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty. If one begins to assemble Doug Ford’s outtakes, gaffes and off-handed remarks, and takes stock of what they really mean, perhaps the Feb. 27 vote might be closer than the Conservatives care to admit.
As if the premier weren’t scary enough – launching off-handed, off-script remarks from behind that phantasmagorical curtain in the Land of Oz – he has also chosen to avoid reporters’ questions at both leaders’ debates.
On Feb. 14, when the premier chose to participate in the debate at North Bay, he faced an onslaught of criticism from NDP leader Marit Stiles, Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie and Greens leader Mike Schreiner.
“We need a premier who’s not going to make jokes about the death penalty,” Schreiner said.
Then, when reporters gathered for the traditional post-debate scrum – giving each candidate a chance to respond and assess – Doug Ford was nowhere to be seen. The same happened after the Toronto leaders’ debate on Monday night.
I give credit to Peter Bethlanfalvy, running for re-election here in the Pickering-Uxbridge riding. Despite it being Family Day on Feb. 17, and despite the despicable weather across the region, the Ontario finance minister participated in a debate with Liberal candidate Ibrahim Daniyal. Together the two men took questions from media and from some of about a hundred constituents. Bethlanfalvy’s boss, Doug Ford, continues to be MIA.
With the exception of his regular appearances before media microphones and cameras during the COVID pandemic, Doug Ford has stayed as far from reporters’ pointed questions as possible. On the Greenbelt scandal … on the utter destruction of Ontario Place flora and fauna for a luxury spa. … on his Fantasyland gridlock solution of tunneling under the 401 … on the Conservative boondoggles of moving Service Ontario offices to Staples outlets and beer and wine sales to corner stores … Doug Ford has gone AWOL.
Apparently, the real Doug Ford speaks only when he thinks he can’t be heard.
One hopes, after seven years of their premier hiding, that Ontario voters have heard quite enough.