What you loved and loathed last month

Reader reaction to “The Ford Fallout,” our collection of personal stories about the provincial government’s cost-cutting flip-floppery, was deeply divided. First, the fans:

“Thanks for your report on the disaster that is the Doug Ford government. I feel for all the people whose lives have been made worse because of his policies. The eloquent comments of the former environmental commissioner Dianne Saxe stood out in showing how we are all damaged by Ford’s inability to see anything in any government program but its cost. It’s too long until the next election.”

—Dilys Bowman, Toronto

“The stories about the victims of Ford’s cuts are all very distressing, but the one keeping me up nights is Zeljko Bibic, who is struggling to survive on a fraction of his disability payments. Ford is punishing him for being born with cerebral palsy.”

—Sandra Lowe, Toronto

“Reading this piece makes me wonder why Ontarians are not working together in solidarity against these cuts instead of letting Ford divide us over tax breaks and cost-of-living adjustments.”

—@MikeJToronto, Twitter

“I spoke with a group of provincial government employees recently who said they have no idea what they’re supposed to work on most days. This administration has no plan, and it shows. With an 80 per cent–plus disapproval rate, it’s clear they are failing.”

—Chrys Kaloudis, Facebook

“Dear editor: what cuts? In net terms, Doug Ford is spending even more than Kathleen Wynne did.”

—Clive Whitlock, Milton

“Ford has increased the deficit. He and his ministers are driven by ideology and they act before getting facts or accurately estimating outcomes. Clowns in a clown car.”

—Jim Wadleigh, Facebook

But many readers, including people who proudly voted for Doug Ford, thought we were being patently unfair:

“Yes, many people and organizations have been affected by Doug Ford’s budget cuts. Who is really to blame, though? The monumentally incompetent Liberal government under Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne, whose deficits, over 15 years, now cost Ontario $1 billion a month in interest.

“Let’s not leave Andrea Horwath out of the mix. She and her fellow NDPers supported Wynne in the 2014 non-confidence vote and subjected us to another four years of catastrophic mismanagement.

“We could use that $12 billion a year, but now, many Ontarians have to suffer various deprivations because of those fools.”

—Mike McCartney, Toronto

“I agree the cutbacks are painful for a lot of people and they may not be in the right place, but this province is the most indebted non-state in the world. If we ran our households like this we would all be in court filing for bankruptcy. When interest rates shoot up one day, or we have a real recession, or both, there will be hell to pay. Now is the time to reduce this ridiculous debt, but in a fair manner.”

—Bruce Woodburn, London

“I can understand your anger and limited view on the Ford government. And I am sure that you will be able to find a thousand stories of people who were affected negatively by the actions that have been initiated. But it’s hard to believe that you cannot find one story on the other side of the fence.

“In my humble opinion, Toronto’s council needed to be reduced.

And if you want to do a story about mismanagement and neglect that needs to be told, just look to health

care under the McGuinty and Wynne governments. The inability of the Liberals to even understand the problems let alone initiate solutions has been recorded for posterity.

“While there can be a case made for smaller classrooms, there can also be a case made for online learning and larger classrooms. But both alternatives would reduce the number of teachers needed— and the funds that the union would be able to collect.

“What government is supposed to do is prepare us for the future, not entrench everyone in the past. You need to find reporters who can actually report on a story and not simply wallow in a sanctimonious embrace of ideas that are outdated and damaging to our society.”

—Harold Green