Premier abuses his power to punish former foes

There he goes again, Premier Doug Ford, the human wrecking ball, the Steve Bannon of Ontario, saying all disruption is good, chaos is cleansing, and the rules of democracy are contemptible.

He is slicing city council in half, mid-election campaign, to save, he claims, $25 million. His strategy is clear. Long may the Toronto elites wither while sewer pipes collapse and water comes out of the taps red and already coagulating. The only infrastructure we’ll have left is gullies. This is Ford’s mad dream. Blood moon eclipse! Government deconstruction!

Back to the normal world. When Mayor John Tory spoke to media Friday morning, he used words like rules, orderly, proper, legal, discussion, co-operation, consultation, thoughtful, careful, wise, process, hearings, referendum, Fathers of Confederation, legal opinion and fair.

Asked if he was angry, Tory replied, “I try to be a rational consultation to increase the number of councillors by three, from 44 to 47. It is a shock to see them decreased to 25 without any consultation at all.

Ford is playing Monopoly with the city of Toronto, and he owns all the real estate. Voters will have no say. The change will hand more power to the suburban wards as the crowded downtown wards continue to grow.

I understand why 11 suburban councillors support Ford. They’re selfish people who do not understand the concept of principle. If an unprincipled move happens to benefit you, that’s no reason to seize it with both hands.

Tory accuses Ford of “meddling” in Toronto’s election. Ford didn’t meddle, he took an axe to it. Neither did Putin meddle, he led a digital attack on the 2016 U.S. election on many fronts. Mayors like Tory don’t get irate. I notice that they don’t get their way much either, not in these times.

Worse, it appears that Ford is as personally vindictive as Stephen Harper. He has outmayored Tory, who beat him in the 2014 mayoral race. Cancelling regional elections in Peel hits Patrick Brown, his loathed rival (he has since popped up in Brampton like a whack-a-mole Patrick), and in York, at former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca.

All three men crossed Ford at some point in the past, apparently by existing. Ford has the power to punish them. He is now abusing that power and taking vengeance.

Tell me Ford doesn’t have an enemies list. I’m betting it will include Toronto libraries and public parks. I don’t know how he’ll manage it, perhaps with some light arson, and salting the soil of pointless, non-monetized pockets of downtown green.

I did not think the coming Ford-planned demolition of Ontario would include Toronto. I thought he would maybe contract out Kenora and the Ottawa Valley and build a wall around federal Minister of Border Security Bill Blair.

But now I’m recalling that councillor Doug Ford missed 53 per cent of council votes in 2014. He hates city hall, the people, the building, the stationery. Maybe he thinks Toronto should be provincially owned – it will be “provincialized,” a lower form of nationalization – and unless the tough and very smart Jennifer Keesmaat becomes our next mayor, it may well be.

A referendum is a good idea though probably a no-go. If it happens, could we have a vote on recalling Doug Ford? No, the entire Ford family. They’re not good in cities. Like raccoons, they need their own secret separate place. All material in this publication is the property of SaltWire Network., and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for statements or claims by advertisers. The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes of typographical efforts that do not lessen the value of an advertisement or for omitting to publish an advertisement. Liability is strictly limited to the publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for that advertisement.