Columnists
Who put the bull in my backyard?
We, the collective “we”, voted for Doug Ford. Yes, we did. We let a bully become the Premier of Ontario. Yup, Prince Edward County went to the polls on June 7th and we put an X beside Todd Smith’s name. We went to bed that evening thinking Todd Smith was one of us and woke up to find he was “one of them”. Todd is a friend to many. He is a neighbour to others. He is a family man. And, who knows, maybe at a BBQ or a family picnic or around his dinner table, Todd Smith is what most of us would consider “a good guy”. What do I know? Well, what I do know is Todd Smith told his constituency he was at Queen’s Park for his community and now a lot of us are beginning to wonder what he was talking about during the weeks leading up to the Ontario election. The way I see it, Todd Smith backed the use of the Notwithstanding Clause and he has helped to give the Premier a way to circumvent, or override, certain portions of the Charter. And, it seems to me, Doug Ford is overriding and circumventing the Charter at his whim. At this point I don’t believe, for one moment, Doug Ford has the interests of the people of Toronto in his heart. I don’t believe he’s really worried about the size of Toronto’s city council. I, like many of you, think he’s just throwing his weight around. Someone has to pay the piper and, right now, the City of Toronto will head to the bank for the cash.
I don’t want to talk about Doug Ford. There isn’t anything about the Ford family to which I can relate. I don’t want to disrespect someone like our own Todd Smith but I’m not a happy constituent. If you know me, and some of you tell others that you do, you know I’m deeply concerned about someone diminishing the strength or the intention of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Notwithstanding Clause being used to pare down the size of Toronto’s City Council is whimsical. I am concerned Section 33 will be used again and again, by Doug Ford, to get his way. So, why should we care if our very own MPP supports DF in the enactment of Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? We should care a whole lot because Toronto City Council is just one area where Ford has decided to stick his nose. During the term of office, there will be dozens of occasions where overriding portions of the Charter, to get his way, will make Doug a happy fellow. Who knows? Prince Edward County Council might seem to be a bit bloated, by someone’s measure, and there’s a Municipal election around the corner. Hmmm. Could someone be whispering in Doug Ford’s ear about our own Municipal Council. I really hate to say but is it possible our own Todd Smith is just doing a warm-up-kiss-up before he speaks softly into Dougie’s ear that Prince Edward County could use a shave and a haircut. Is this the way we want our Charter of Rights and Freedoms tossed around? Do we really want someone, like Doug Ford, messing with the basic rules about how our country operates?
Bill 31, if passed, will be just the beginning of Doug Ford’s abuse and disrespect of our Charter. I, personally, don’t think the size of Toronto’s city council is creating “exceptionally rare circumstances” of discrimination whereby the Notwithstanding Clause needed to be trooped out and pressed into service. Doug Ford is a toxic man. He talks more than he listens. He thrives on drama and invites it along wherever he goes. He believes he’s never wrong. In Doug’s own words, “I was elected. The judge was appointed.” he sums up how he feels about the people of Ontario.
To Todd Smith I say, “Please, don’t step into it.” You’ll track it into our community and we’d rather smell the barnyard than the crap.
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