The Ford government has a costly vendetta

There’s a rotten smell emanating from Queen’s Park that can be traced straight to a rancid, publicly-funded vendetta launched by the Doug Ford government.

While Premier Ford has been tight-lipped about the matter, it appears his right-hand man ordered the firing of a top Ontario Power Generation executive who just happens to have previously worked for someone Ford has often criticized — former Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown.

And that troubling, still unexplained, move could saddle you, the taxpayer, with a $500,000 bill.

Three Progressive Conservative sources confirmed to the Toronto Star this week that Ford’s chief of staff, Dean French, phoned OPG chair Bernard Lord and demanded the removal of Alykhan Velshi.

Velshi, who had served as Brown’s chief of staff, was ousted on the first day of his job as OPG’s senior vicepresident of corporate affairs and community relations.

The decision to terminate Velshi fails the smell test on many levels. Ontarians shouldn’t just hold their noses and turn away. They deserve answers and action.

If Ford’s PC government is behind Velshi’s firing, it would be guilty of grossly abusing its power. The people running Ontario Power Generation are responsible for who works at the Crown corporation.

They should do the hiring and firing, not someone in government. And these should be personnel not personal decisions, determined by operational needs not political grudges.

Moreover, the game of politics being played here looks especially ugly. It’s common knowledge that there’s no love lost between Premier Ford and Patrick Brown.

Before the spring provincial election, Ford complained about the “mess” Brown had left him when Brown stepped down as party leader.

When Brown entered the race to become the chair of Peel Region, Ford decided the position would no longer be elected, leaving Brown scrambling to run for another municipal office before the nomination deadline.

In the eyes of many observers, that decision had less to do with good governance than with a petty, vindictive settling of political scores. Now the Ford-Brown feud may have claimed another victim — Velshi.

Velshi will continue in his current role until the termination takes effect. When that will happen, and how much he receives in severance, has yet to be announced. However, one Conservative insider pegged the severance bill — to be paid by the taxpayers — at half a million dollars.

It is breathtaking to contemplate the upheaval the Ford government has caused during its five months in power. The previous government’s plans to fight climate change, raise the minimum wage and complete a basic income pilot project — to name just a few initiatives — were all cancelled by Ford.

Now his government’s ethical and management standards — not just its political acumen — are in doubt.

Separate allegations of sexual misconduct recently forced MPP Jim Wilson to resign from the PC caucus and cabinet position, and led to the exit of one of Ford’s top advisers, Andrew Kimber, from the premier’s office. Ford was criticized for being too slow in explaining Wilson’s departure.

Also this week, John Sinclair, a former senior Tory staffer who was pushed out of his job last week, hired a lawyer to defend himself. If this isn’t chaos in the Tory ranks, it sure looks like it.

As for the Velshi fiasco, Ford insists OPG is responsible. If so, Ford should explain why OPG would hire, then suddenly fire, such a senior executive. Show Ontarians who made the decision, Mr. Premier. Name names and tell them what it will all cost.

Then, let the voters decide if they’d like to fire anyone.