On The Ledge

He passed away in August of this year and he was memorialized this week by family, friends and political colleagues of all stripes. Former Ontario Premier Bill Davis is remembered as a politician whose success came from his innate ability to include the opposition in his policy and legislative process. The service happened the same day the Ford government unveiled its Fall Economic Statement. What was in it? What was missing? One thing is clear, the Progressive Conservatives are saying "YES!" to electioneering.

Ontario's Minister for Long Term Care tabled the Ford government's bill outlining the province's latest promise to address the needs of our elders and most vulnerable. More money for more  inspectors, more money for more staff training, more more of more... But what good are more inspectors if the standard of living in an LTC isn't properly addressed? What good is more tuition support for PSW training if there are fewer and fewer people interested in doing a poor paying job under the glare of public scrutiny in the face of lousy working conditions?

At least it came with a Q&A opportunity. The Doug Ford government tells us what we already know, unveiling its cautious plans to step out of STEP 3. But Ford Nation still struggles with its obsession with the fringes when it comes to vaccine policies, voting down Opposition motions to make vaccines mandatory in the healthcare and education sectors. Meanwhile, hospitals and police forces across the province are already suspending non-vaxxed workers and preparing to fire those who don't comply with vaccine requirements.

Great to have Sabrina Nanji at the Queen's Park Observer join this week's edition of On The Ledge. The province of Ontario has started rolling out its proof of vaccine QR code initiative. But it won't be implemented until October 22nd. The Ford government says they want to make sure businesses and individuals have enough lead time to load their QR codes before they go into use. But the overwhelming and, as of yet, unsatisfactorily answered question remains: why didn't the province include restaurants, bars and gyms in the plan to allow for full capacity? The announcement was a Friday Dump just before the Thanksgiving weekend and there has been no reason given for the discrepancy in the re-opening policy. The government will only say it wants to move slowly. Meanwhile, restaurant owners are losing their businesses.

Really? The province of Ontario decides major sporting events, cinemas and theatres are among the blessed sites that are now allowed to have full capacity. That means the Leafs and Raptors will be playing to full houses.  But the "rules" still don't apply to restaurants, bars or gyms.  Needless to say, the out-of-the-(Tory)-blue announcement prompts plenty of questions. But there's nobody to ask. The Chief Medical Officer of Health only offered his proclamation by way of a news release/statement on a Friday before a long weekend. We can't even ask anyone this week because the LEDGE isn't sitting. (Yes, you are correct. They only just got back to work last Monday but this is the Thanksgiving week, so it means they MUST take it off as a constituency week.) Here's hoping MPP's are getting an earful from their restaurant, bar and gym owning constituents.

Chantal Hebert at the Toronto Star summed it up best on Election Night. "It was an election that nobody wanted and nobody got what they wanted." You can't even say we ended up with the status quo because the campaign only served to make politics more divisive at a time when the country cries out for leadership and vision to ensure we recover physically, mentally and economically from the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions: Who among the federal leaders will live to fight another campaign? Is Doug Ford the answer to the Conservative Party of Canada's inability to breakthrough in Ontario? And, why exactly are Liberals upset with Kevin Vuong?

These final hours of the federal election campaign have made things clear as mud. The polls have consistently suggested the Liberals and Conservatives are in a dead heat among decided voters. The only confident prediction is we will have a minority government when all is said and done.  Who will sit in the PM's chair? Not at all clear. Meantime, the Liberals have dumped Kevin Vuong as their candidate in a downtown Toronto riding after the Toronto Star reported he'd been charged with sexual assault in 2019. It's important to note the Crown withdrew the charges. The case never went to trial. The timing of the story is one thing. But it also calls into question the journalistic ethics at the Star.

Is this an all or nothing campaign for Erin O'Toole? Does he have to win the September 20the federal election to keep his job at leader of the Conservative Party of Canada?  Matt Gurney at the National Post joins us for this episode of The WRIT Race. He suggests O'Toole's term as party leader may be short lived unless he can boast "some kind of win", whether that's winning a minority or weakening Trudeau's minority.  "O'Toole is out on a moderate, eastern, centrist Canadian limb for a party whose last 100 seats are a rock solid, often rural, western Canadian base. If the Easterner can't deliver the bacon, I don't think he lasts long."

It's not that silly a question when you consider two things. First, most Canadians didn't want this election to begin with. So, to see the Trudeau Liberals barely survive with a slimmer minority, (not the majority the prime minister coveted), will call his "mandate" into question. Second, it leaves it up to a wounded Trudeau to mop up the divisiveness of the campaign while coping with a new year that will be dominated by the fourth (fifth?) wave of the pandemic. Brett James, Senior Counsel at Sussex Strategy Group in Toronto offers his insights.

Yes, the tone has changed on the federal campaign trail. And that may have been predictable. But there was a nasty moment when protestors began making inappropriate comments about Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie. Deb Hutton says that's not new, but it doesn't make it right. Deb advised a couple of premiers in Ontario, worked on leadership and election campaigns and experienced campaigning as a spouse when her husband, Tim Hudak, led the Progressive Conservatives in the 2011 and 2014 Ontario elections.