Re - Doug Ford and Toronto

Adrian O'Connell | Oct 03, 2018

Oh goody! It’s so exciting that the Ford Brothers’ multi-ring circus is now Ontario wide and that Doug Ford, continuing the hallowed legacy of his brother, Rob, has extended his big top to cover the whole of the province.

This corrects the inequity - namely, that for years, we the people, who happen to live out in the sticks, far from the downtown elites with their enviable access to sporting and cultural events had long been denied this entertainment.

Henceforth, we in the boonies will also be able to marvel, as ringmaster, Doug Ford, surrounded by adoring assistants and with whip in confident hand, steps into the spotlight to single-handedly wrestle the monster that is Toronto City Council into submission. Already, this mini-Trump has shown his mettle, defiantly revealing in the face of innumerable foes, that he is prepared to deal courageously with an array of formidable enemies (if not of the state, then the province) deployed against him, including the province’s school teachers, the appointed judiciary, and “experts” of all kinds, who dare to thwart his will.

Even though Ford’s administration is in its infancy, (and indeed, based upon early indicators, may remain so, for some time) it is gratifying to see that he is truly a man of action. And while it is difficult to say, as yet, that he keeps his promises (he never really made any while campaigning) he has moved decisively to protect and improve the province with his fearless attacks on the needy poor, the limits placed on LGBT educational rights, the introduction of tax funded snitch lines and armed with his profound insights, drawn from long experience with, and deep understanding of, the drug underbelly of Etobicoke, he is bringing “common sense” to the whole issue of neighbourhood drug clinics.

One marvels, too, at the political stamina of our premier as he demonstrates his ability to maintain one night stands in the legislature to determinably push through his agenda in the face of a rabble of old age pensioners and malcontents who believe in constitutional democracy.

Barnum & Bailey may be gone but at least some excitement has been reintroduced into our lives with the election of such selfless champions of the people, both north and south of the 49th parallel. Who knows? The citizenry of both countries are begging for more hijinks to ease the torpor of their uneventful existences. Might I helpfully but humbly suggest a future spectacle on our international border, whereby both the current president of the United States and Premier Ford, could seal, on our behalf, their neighbourly friendship, by meeting half way on a high wire spanning Niagara Falls?

But naturally, this stunt would require the balanced approach which both men have so clearly brought to their conduct and governance in recent days.

Adrian O'Connell