Ford reversals remind us our voices have power
Something Premier Doug Ford probably doesn't get enough credit for: He knows how to backtrack. As compliments go, it's undeniably backhanded, yet it's meant with genuine appreciation.
The world is full of politicians who won't back down from a policy, even in the face of intense criticism. The folksy premier certainly is capable of digging in his heels with great tenacity, and his bully-boy tactics can be audacious, but when the people object loudly enough and long enough, he has shown he can listen.
After months of resistance, Ford's Conservatives have agreed to back an NDP motion declaring intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic. This kind of aboutface is democracy at its best.
We saw it in 2019, when the government announced an underbaked overhaul of the Ontario Autism Program. Changes meant to reduce waiting lists would have booted thousands of kids from government-funded therapy, and doled out reduced funding based on family income rather than each child's needs. The public outcry was loud, sustained, and successful: the government reversed course on most of its changes.
We saw it again in 2022 when the province imposed a four-year contract on education workers, building in the notwithstanding clause to override their right to strike. The modestly paid workers walked out, and unions flexed the threat of a general strike. Within days, Bill 28 was not merely unanimously repealed; it was “deemed for all purposes never to have been in force.”
Of course, there was no bigger reversal than the drama over Greenbelt development. The premier clung far too long to a developer-friendly plan to rezone protected areas for housing development. Environmentalists hollered blue murder. As details of the preferential selection process emerged through two investigations, even steadfast Conservatives joined the chorus.
Ford finally acknowledged he'd made a mistake. The government not only rolled back the zoning changes, but wrote the Greenbelt's boundaries into law.
Declaring IPV an epidemic is a largely symbolic gesture, but it signals a significant multisystem response to a lethal and ongoing health crisis. The measure topped a list of 86 recommendations by an inquest into a triple femicide in Renfrew County in 2015.
The government's shamefully dismissive response, completed last June, scoffed IPV “would not be considered an epidemic as it is not an infectious or communicable disease.”
Perhaps they'd forgotten about the opioid epidemic, which is neither infectious nor communicable, and nevertheless has killed more than 40,000.
Across Canada, a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six days. The
Ford government has devoted significant resources to fighting IPV and supporting survivors; its refusal to act on the inquest's top recommendation has been frankly baffling. Sustained pressure has come from dozens and dozens of municipalities, from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie, which have passed motions declaring IPV an epidemic, urging the province to follow suit.
It's never too late to do the right thing. Reversals don't happen every day. But they happen enough to remind us that our voices have power.
This is the essence of democracy. It's not only about voting at four- or fiveyear intervals. We can effect change as informed and engaged citizens.
The premier has forged ahead with some controversial policies — carving up swaths of Ontario Place for a private spa springs to mind — but he also has proven he can hear us, when we speak loudly enough.