Young Doug Ford

Thursday October 23, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 23, 2019

Canada election: Did Doug Ford laying low work for Andrew Scheer?

Young Doug Ford Series

A day after the federal election with the dust still settling, Ontario Premier Doug Ford resurfaced with an announcement of more money to fight crime across the province.

Ford made the announcement of $6 million over three years away from reporters and cameras.

“When we invest in our men and women in uniform, we get results,” Ford said in a statement.

The media have had limited access to the premier since the election campaign began. Ford was available twice to the Queenʼs Park press gallery over the past several weeks, and both times were a great distance from Queenʼs Park.

October 4, 2019

One appearance was in North Bay during the International Plowing Match and the second was last week in Kenora, located nearly 20 hours driving distance from the legislature.

The question political pundits and pollsters have been chewing over is whether or not Fordʼs noticeable absence had an impact on the campaign.

“I canʼt imagine that having the premier allegedly lay low for a couple of weeks had much of an impact one way or another,” Sean Simpson with IPSOS Canada said on Tuesday.

However, Simpson said a poll done for Global News on election day of 10,000 people showed a slim majority of Ontario residents said Ford as premier “had at least some impact on their vote.”

September 26, 2019

“Some of those are conservatives more likely to vote as a result of Doug Ford. Of course others are supporters of the Liberals and the NDP maybe voting against,” he said.

While most GTA ridings did not change parties, Milton did. Long-time conservative MP and former Harper cabinet Minister Lisa Raitt was unseated by the Liberal candidate and Olympian Adam van Koeverden.

When asked Monday night if she believed Fordʼs negative approval ratings had an impact, Raitt said she didnʼt know.

A spokesperson for Ford said he called Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on Tuesday to offer congratulations on his re-election.

April 17, 2019

“They discussed shared goals for the province and agreed to work collaboratively to move important projects forward,” Ivana Yelich, Fordʼs press secretary, said.

Ford later issued a statement and said the provincial and federal governments need to work with municipalities to build “hospital infrastructure, create long-term care beds for our aging population, address gridlock and congestion on our roads and to build affordable housing for young people and families.”

“The Premier thanked the Prime Minister for his support of the Ontario Line and his recognition of this important project that will help end gridlock and get people moving across the Greater Toronto Area.” (Global News) 

 

Tuesday September 24, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 24, 2019

Premier Doug Ford blasts Trudeau’s ‘unacceptable’ donning of racist blackface

Premier Doug Ford has strongly denounced Justin Trudeau’s penchant for donning blackface and charged there’s a “double standard” over how the Liberal leader’s past misdeeds are being reported.

September 20, 2019

“It was unacceptable back in 2001, it’s unacceptable now,” said the Progressive Conservative premier, who has emerged as a favourite target of the federal Liberals during this election.

“The people are going to decide. They’re going to have the opportunity to decide if they want the prime minister to continue being prime minister or they want a change,” he said Friday.

Last Wednesday, Time magazine published a 2001 photo of Trudeau dressed as Aladdin at a gala when he was a 29-year-old private school teacher at Vancouver’s West Point Grey Academy.

In the wake of that, other photos have surface of him in blackface and brown face.

February 22, 2018

While Trudeau has repeatedly apologized for his transgressions, on Sunday he ducked reporters’ questions when asked if he could recall the last time he wore racist makeup.

Ford took a swipe at the media, saying there’s a “double standard right across the board” in how the controversy is being covered.

“If it was a Conservative, I think it would have been a different story,” the premier told CTV.

In a separate interview with AM640’s Alex Pierson, Ford was asked if he had ever donned blackface.

“No. I wouldn’t be that stupid,” he said to Pierson.

July 10, 2018

Last Wednesday, Time magazine published a 2001 photo of Trudeau dressed as Aladdin at a gala when he was a 29-year-old private school teacher at Vancouver’s West Point Grey Academy.

In the wake of that, other photos have surface of him in blackface and brown face.

While Trudeau has repeatedly apologized for his transgressions, on Sunday he ducked reporters’ questions when asked if he could recall the last time he wore racist makeup.

Ford took a swipe at the media, saying there’s a “double standard right across the board” in how the controversy is being covered.

Series: Young Doug Ford

The premier has been a lightning rod in the Oct. 21 federal election campaign with the Liberals mocking his “for the people” slogan in their advertising and Grit candidates in Ontario attacking his government’s policies.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer refused to utter the name “Ford” even when campaigning 700 metres from his Etobicoke home last week.

A new batch of Tory ads tie Trudeau to former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, whom Ford’s Tories trounced in the 2018 provincial election, but they do not mention the current premier. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

 

Thursday August 8, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 8, 2019

Has Doug Ford finally put the cronyism scandal behind him?

It is the calm after the summer storm in Premier Doug Ford’s government.

June 27, 2018

Seven weeks ago, Ford shook up his cabinet in a bid to reboot an administration that polls suggest is struggling — only to be immediately rocked by a cronyism scandal.

Dean French, the premier’s chief of staff, quit on June 21, a Friday night resignation that swamped news coverage of the massive switch of a dozen ministers just one day earlier.

While seven French-linked appointees have also stepped down or been forced out in the wake of the controversy, the departure appears to have triggered the reset the cabinet shuffle was meant to signal.

Yes, staffers have left or are leaving shortly — some because they’re seen as too close to the hard-charging ex-chief; others because they had long been fed up working for him.

However, Ford’s dismal poll numbers are fuelling anxiety within his Conservative caucus, suggesting the party has not put its problems behind it.

April 9, 2019

Overall, though, a sense of quiet professionalism has descended upon the premier’s office thanks largely to interim chief Jamie Wallace, a former Queen’s Park press gallery president and Postmedia executive who ran the Sun tabloid chain.

“It’s palpable,” confided one senior Progressive Conservative, like others speaking on background in order to discuss the scene in the premier’s office.

“Jamie’s been around Queen’s Park forever. He understands the place, he treats (the political staff) well, and he’s respectful to (the public servants),” said the Tory insider.

“He knows what he doesn’t know and isn’t afraid to ask someone who does,” said a retired cabinet minister, who has advised Wallace.

March 22, 2019

“You’d be surprised how rare that is in any government,” said the former PC minister, who has worked with Tories and Liberals at Queen’s Park.

Another PC official said Wallace, who worked briefly in government when Ernie Eves was premier, is implementing processes and discipline that were sorely lacking in a freewheeling 14-month-old administration.

“He understands the need for a plan,” said the official, noting things were so chaotic and ad hoc in the government that it at times seemed as if “message planning” was being driven by what happened to be on CP24, the premier’s favourite cable news channel, at the time.

Now that the “French connections” scandal appears to be fading from the headlines, the premier insists “we’re moving forward as a government.” (Hamilton Spectator) 

Wednesday April 3, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 3, 2019

Doug Ford defends plan to change Ontario licence plate slogan

Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservatives are defending their plan to change the slogan on Ontario’s licence plates as a signal that a new government is running the province.

June 27, 2018

Ford faced questions in the Legislature on Tuesday about his admission that he intends to replace the “Yours To Discover” slogan on licence plates.

“I can tell you that people across this province want change. They voted for change, and they’re getting change,” Ford responded.

Ford claimed changing the licence plates won’t cost taxpayers anything.

The PCs are considering putting “Open For Business” on commercial plates and a different slogan for the plates on passenger vehicles, government officials have confirmed. Ford said this week that the new slogans will be revealed in the budget on April 11.

Licence plate design falls under the portfolio of Government Services Minister Bill Walker and he too is indicating there’s a political reason behind changing the slogan.

“What we want to do is turn the channel; we want to turn the page on a dire economic situation that the Liberal government after 15 years of mismanagement left us in,” Walker said Tuesday in response to reporters’ questions about the licence plate slogan.

“Yours to Discover” has been on Ontario plates for 37 years. The PC government of Bill Davis brought in the slogan in 1982, replacing “Keep It Beautiful.”

The Ford government wants to “ensure that Ontario says to the world, ‘We are back on stage,'” Walker said. “We’re looking at all kinds of different options to brand our province as open for business, open for jobs.”

The opposition parties are hammering Ford and his PCs for the plan. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Wednesday June 27, 2018

 

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 27, 2018

Doug Ford wants consultations on cannabis sales in Ontario

With the legalization of recreational cannabis now months away, Ontario’s incoming premier said he wants to consult further with municipalities, stakeholders and his caucus before deciding whether to change the plan laid out by his predecessors for the sale of marijuana.

January 23, 2018

The outgoing Liberals had planned to roll out 150 standalone pot stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario by the end of 2020, with the first 40 scheduled to open this year.

Doug Ford, who was elected this month, had previously suggested he would be open to greater privatization of marijuana sales.

But when asked about his plan for pot sales on Thursday, Ford said he’s focusing on the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which he said already has infrastructure in place that would allow it to sell marijuana once it becomes legal this fall.

“What I said is I’d be focusing on the LCBO. I’m private sector, I don’t believe government should stick their nose into everything, but again, this is a path we have never went down,” he said. “We’re going to tread carefully on this and we’re going to consult with the local municipalities and we’re going to make a decision after we talk to caucus.”

January 23, 2014

The Progressive Conservatives say when the premier-designate talks about focusing on the LCBO, he’s referring to Ontario Cannabis Stores run by the LCBO, as the outgoing Liberal government planned.

Ford also suggested Thursday that Ottawa had left the provinces with little support to prepare for legalization.

“This is a path that the federal government has dumped on all the provinces,” he said.

The federal government announced this week that Canadians will be able to legally purchase recreational marijuana starting Oct. 17. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said legalization was pushed back at the request of several provinces who sought more time to make the transition. (Source: CTV) 

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