I knew it wouldn't take long for Doug Ford to start breaking his promises.
Just as long as it took for that Con clown to realize that thanks to scrapping the provinces cap and trade program, he had no money to pay for them.
Or understand that running a small label factory isn't the same as running Canada's biggest province.
But did he really have to break his first promise on the backs of the poor?
For this isn't just cruel, it's cowardly and disgusting.
Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government is rolling back social-assistance changes put in place by the former Liberal government, announcing reductions to planned increases in rates and the cancellation of a pilot project to establish a basic income for recipients.
And dashing the hopes of the poor, and stealing their food money, is as low as you can go, and absolutely unforgivable.
Every morning, Dave Cherkewski wakes up and shuffles to the fridge in his Beasley apartment, where he's faced with a symbol of his newfound agency — fruit smoothies.
This is one of life's little comforts for Cherkewski. He's lived in poverty for about 10 years, ever since depression and anxiety yanked him from his career. Cherkewski is used to eating from the bargain bin. For him, he said, a smoothie "is a luxury."
And should be condemned by all decent Canadians.
But then who can be surprised when Ford's ridiculous slogan "For the People" couldn't be more fraudulent?
Who will be surprised when the grubby so called Ford Nation will sooner or later be known as Sucker Nation?
And who can be surprised that the Harperite cult that is running his government is trying to brainwash us with a taxpayer funded propaganda channel.
Just like the one Stephen Harper used to have...
While trying to muzzle reporters just like Great Fallen Leader's flunkies used to do.
The launch of the social media account comes on the same day journalists questioned Ford government communications staff over behaviour during news conferences. On Tuesday, during a media availability with Lisa Macleod, Ontario’s minister of children, community and social services, PC staff began clapping in unison to drown out reporters after only a few had put their questions to the minister.
In a manner that can only be described as fascist.
And the behaviour of Ford and his Cons in Question Period yesterday can only be described as the actions of a would be tinpot dictator.
I was just noticing all the civilized touches in the Ontario legislature when it stopped being civilized...
That set Ford off. “You’re disgusting! You’re disgusting! Racist!” he shouted. And, incongruously, “Make sure the Toronto Star writes about that!”
For the rest of question period, every time a New Democrat asked a question, Smith said no government minister would answer it.
A rube would be dictator drunk with power, who can't conceal his contempt for democracy.
And as for his shameful stooges who are either too morally corrupt, or too afraid to say or do anything to restrain Ford, they will one day be asked to explain their actions, and be found wanting.
Thirteen incumbent MPPs supported Christine Elliott’s candidacy, five backed Caroline Mulroney, and two endorsed Ford. Most of his caucus and a good part of the government’s staff are still trying to figure him out. But so far, when the chips are down and in truly weird circumstances, they’re backing him. Make of that what you will.
Asked to explain why they remained silent, when their mini Trump and would be dictator ended the war on climate change, showed his contempt for democracy, threatened the lives of bullied LGBT children.
And was clearly unfit to lead any kind of Canadian government.
It's a frightening situation, for who knows what that political ape might do next?
But there is a silver lining.
For if Ford is already going off the rails after only a few weeks, already waging war on the most vulnerable people in Canada, and already acting like a bully and a maniac, Justin Trudeau is going to have him for dinner.
Ford will help hand Trudeau another massive majority.
While almost certainly finishing off Andrew Scheer.
So yes, it will be a scary story. Especially when Ford starts mutilating medicare.
But the damage to the Con brand will be fatal.
The beast will be brought down.
And it will have a happy ending...
34 comments:
Hi Simon, I couldn't believe my eyes when first, this fraud won the leadership race and then the election? But I can't help but wonder if the same bullshit that elected the abominable Trump elected Ford? Racism, sexism and homophobia are alive and well in the 905 and when do-nothing failures like Ford rise to the top, we know we're in trouble, but as you say, he has the harperite machine in the background pulling the strings. I certainly hope you're right that this spells the end of Sheer in 2019. Ford has got to go, but it's going to be 4 long years to get him out.
The combination of Harris and Harper should have made the Cons unelectable in Ontario. Sadly, voters gave Ford a majority and now they're going to get what they voted for good and hard.
They better not try and cut my welfare! I've got beer to drink and video games to play.
But did he really have to break his first promise on the backs of the poor?
Of course he did. My suspicions are that he a) a coward and b) has no empathy for the poor.
We cannot expect him to make the 1% pay. So since he apparently cannot do simple arithmetic, he needs to make someone pay. The poor are an easy target
How much beer can you buy on this budget?
https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/employment-social-support/employment-support/employment-seekers-in-financial-need/ontario-works-rates/
The majority consists of approximately 24% of eligible voters ... 60% bothered voting X 40% who voted for Dougie. OK in normal times where legal contracts and laws are honored combined with touch of decency and common sense. Unfortunately these are not normal times.
RT
Perhaps Dougie von Dumkopf's next move will be self-dealing a lucrative contract to Deco Labels to make adhesive/Velcro patches for the clothing of the üntermenschen. After all, first he came for the immigrants, then he came for the disabled, then he came for the poor... History repeats itself first as tragedy, then as gorilla farts. Or something like that. Whoever voted for this idiotic fascist must have been sniffing some really strong glue.
Sorry Doug, but there's no money for you either in the budget to get wasted and play with your joystick. Looks like you'll need to pick up a second job back at Deco licking envelopes to see what sticks. No gold star for you, I'm afraid. Just paper cuts on that nasty tongue of yours.
Dougie's nephew sits on the same Toronto city council that Uncle Stupid wants to gut to the bone. Apparently Mikey is nothing like his idiot uncles and actually an ally of Trudeau, having said on a number of occasions that he can relate well to Justin's sentiments that he wants to be known as his own person and not just as "Pierre Jr." Since the Municipal Moron Twins despise(d) PMJT, the friction, if there is any, should be interesting. Holiday dinners undoubtedly must be.
The only salve here is that we're not in the timeline where Dead Robbie is alive and still serving as da mayor, along with his idiot brother as da premier. 'Course, I could go on forever about why we in the 'States thought the combination of Shrub and Jeb! should have made the GOP unelectable ever again. And yet, here we are. Please clap.
Not a Ford fan but I’ll wait and see if they replace it with something else as they’ve indicated before blowing my cork.
Meanwhile it’s too bad the Trudeau supporters on this page weren’t as outraged when JT breaks his word.
Maybe because Justin Trudeau, like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton or even his father before him, has a well-thought-out explanation for why literally every checkbox on his agenda doesn't go through (or doesn't go as he'd planned or intended)? Not their fault there are too many people who want easy answers to complex problems, and then put all their eggs in a basket of deplorables when they don't get everything they want. Disappointed that they didn't get their unrealistic "shiny pony" Mustang, and unwilling to accept the sensible Taurus as a compromise, they go all-in for the first silver-tongued used-car salesman who comes along, and who ends up delivering an Edsel with a Pinto engine after promising a souped-up flashy Ford.
Cons, true to their name, simply snooker the gullible public out of pure greed and spite. "Repeal and replace"? Where have we heard that before? Yankee Doug, aka Trump, talked a good game during campaign season about national healthcare in Scotland. He's now dead-set on replacing Obamacare with "I DON'T REALLY CARE." Shrub promised "compassionate conservatism." We got thousands of dead Iraqis and ruined soldiers, and the worst economic collapse since 1929. Nixon promised "law and order" but turned out to be a crook. Same old story with the same unhappy ending everywhere you turn.
Better a well-intentioned liberal with an imperfect but decent record and a good heart, than a no-good, right-wing con artist with a pickled brain who just wants to fatten his wallet.
I lived for 7 years in Austria. In their equivalent but much busier Union Station
their was an honor system for buying newspapers and magazines. A bucket with $50 to a $100 in change was on the table and all the magazines where laid out. It was a virtually crime free society. The reason the Austrians knew that 20% of the people are going to have trouble, and they got to eat, and have shelter, and dignity. So they paid up front and the rewards are endless, especially for the children. Conservatives complain about a welfare state, they make it impossible to escape.
I am so ashamed of anyone who would think taking money from the most desperate people in society is a good thing.This is not Canada. This is not best practices. This is someone who heard about Ayn Rand, but never read the fantasy book.
no one on welfare wants to be there, that is the one thing everyone can agree upon
Hi bcwaterboy...yes, some of the same bullshit that helped elect Trump also helped elect Ford. Kathleen Wynne was the member of a government that had made some serious mistakes and had probably been in power too long. But much of the onslaught against her was fuelled by the same misogyny that was directed at Hillary Clinton, and in Wynne's case was compounded by homophobia. And yes, it's probably going to be a long four years, but I'm pretty confident that Ford will damage the Con brand, and that Scheer will be one of Ford's victims. Of course, as you well know, I have been called a hopeless optimist. ;) But hope will get us through these nightmare years better than anything else...
Hi anon@9:44 AM...I have to admit that never in my worst nightmares did I think that Doug Ford would end up becoming Premier of Ontario. But he did get a strong majority, and as you say, those who voted for him, those who slit the vote, and those who didn't bother to vote are all going to pay over and over again. I can only hope that progressives have learned their lesson and won't make the same mistakes again...
hi anon@11:05 AM...I takes a Con to mock the lives of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens, and you should be ashamed of yourself...
Hi jrkrideau...thank you for that link. I have worked with the welfare poor, and I didn't see any more alcoholism than I saw in wealthier groups. What I did see was many trying to stretch their tiny budget so they could buy something more than food. And it made a deep impression on me, as well as leaving me with a burning desire for social justice...
Hi Steve...you're right, nobody wants to be on welfare, and most end up there due to no fault of their own, like the man whose story I linked to in my post. Tragedy and mental illness can bring down anyone, and stereotyping people on welfare does nobody any good...
Hi RT...You're right, these are not normal times, and those who didn't bother to vote are as guilty in my opinion as those who voted for Ford. Both groups share the blame for electing a political ape who will set back the province of Ontario about 20 years, and help drag down the rest of Canada as well. Cons are a disease and this country is now seriously ill...
Hi Jackie...I have to confess that when I see Ford on TV speaking with that strange voice of his, and bragging about his "business experience" I have to restrain myself from laughing hysterically. The man is such a buffoon. But of course it's not funny because his Harperite handlers are ruthless fanatics, and they are out to do what their Great Leader could not, change this country beyond recognition. I console myself by addressing a large poster of Ford as a pig that I have placed in my study, and saying: The pigger you are the harder you will fall... ;)
Hi jrkrideau...yeah, I probably could have written that differently. It does sound a bit naive.
Because of course Ford is a millionaire who couldn't give a damn about poor people. His late brother's house is up for sale and valued at $2.5 million, so the idea that the Fords are for the people is a really bad joke. I remember wondering during the campaign why
so many wealthy people were backing Ford, and of course know we know...
Did he have to do it on the backs of the poor? Of course he did. Did you really think he was going to do it on the backs of the rich? Come on this is the boy who hired Gordon Campbell and that is what Campbell, el gordo, did.
If you want to know how "bad" it can get, this is another one from the books of the B.C. Lieberals, el gordo et al. In B.C. a custodial parent with one child received $1,200 per month to live on if she was collecting a disability pension from the provincial government. Now if that child's non custodial parent pays child support that was deducted nickel for nickel from the custodial parent's disability cheque. There was quite a campaign out here in B.C. about it and raised in the Leg. Know what the reply was: the government needed the $14M they clawed back each year from children living at 50% below the poverty line. so what Ford has done first off the mark has the paw prints of el gordo all over it. Look forward to that one. If any children are currently permitted to keep the child support while their custodial parent is on any form of government assistance, they will start clawing it back. Now living on $1,200 per month was 50% below the B.C. poverty line. Trust me, with el gordo "guiding" Ford its going to get a whole lot uglier in Ontario.
Eventually follow continual attack from the public, anti poverty groups, parents, children themselves, and finally community papers, they caved and the child was permitted to keep the support payments.
That new "t.v. station" we heard about on the news which Ford has, well its also along the lines of the el gordo crowds, but they were so tight with the media, they didn't need their own channel. Almost nothing negative was reported by the MSM. The government bought so many ads telling the public the B.C. Lieberals were great, there were some of us who figured it was that advertising which kept Post Media a float out here. Expect some of that in Toronto also. Once the news media gets used to all the ads, they will print nothing negative about Ford and el gordo. First you turn the media and then you turn the public. They kept it up for 16 years in B.C.
Simon, Ford is not running off the rails, he is right on track. This is the new way of doing business in Ontario. What went on in the Leg. is just power for the course. It went on in B.C. constantly. el gordo and his crew wouldn't answer questions, heckled the NDP constantly. it was so embarrassing some teachers didn't want to take their students to the leg. any longer. As I suggested in other posts, this is the new way things will be done in Ontario. Remember Ford hired Gordon Campbell and he is the one running the show, not Ford. Make no mistake about that. Ford isnt' smart enough to run a province and there are those who with Wynne out of office who will benefit big time. But they weren't going to turn the keys over to Ford just like that, and hence el gordo. If el gordo is being paid by the province, request the information through access and find out when the contract was signed. Find out when they started negotiations. Expect a lot more lies. el gordo was great with them. No I won't sell B.C. Rail. He leased it out to his bag man for a thousand year. No I won't break any union contracts and fired 9,000 Unionized workers. No I won't bring in a unified GST and did. we later found out he had made the deal with harper prior to the provincial election.
Simon get ready for deceit, attacks on the power, lowering of business taxes, selling off of government assets, etc. If you want more information, please feel free to write.
No Gordon Campbell isn't that stupid but watch for contracts going to friends and associates. When B.C. Hydro converted to "stupid" meters out here, the contract for ONE BILLION DOLLARS went to a one person outfit, with a small office, who was not unacquainted with el gordo. Expect more of this in Ontario. You haven't seen anything yet.
hi anon@2:25 PM...Justin Trudeau may have broken some promises as all governments do, but he has not broken any that hurt the poor and the most vulnerable as Doug Ford has just done. And I'm afraid that if you think Ford will change for the better you are going to be very disappointed...
Hi Jackie... yes, I believe this too:
Better a well-intentioned liberal with an imperfect but decent record and a good heart, than a no-good, right-wing con artist with a pickled brain who just wants to fatten his wallet.
Decency and a good heart are the values I most admire in a politician. And one who is cruel or a bully can forget about my vote...
hi Steve...Canada used to have better collective values that set us apart from the rampant individualism of the U.S. But I'm afraid greed has undermined those collective values and we are not the kind of country we once were. Which is too bad, for as I'm sure we will soon discover, those collective values were the glue that helped keep this country together. And without them we are in danger of flying apart...
Hi e.a.f... what you say is all pretty disturbing. And I will certainly try to find out what Campbell is up to. But wasn't he involved in some kind of drunk driving incident? And why would the Harperites hire him of all people, when they have so many of Steve's fanatics ready and willing to serve?
"First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin"........The Future,it is Murder"!
Here is the Gord Campbell story: https://thetyee.ca/Life/2013/04/23/Honourable-Members-Campbell/ Well over the legal limit, and manifestly incapacitated. Impaired driving should be treated like any other out-of-control misuse of a daily weapon. Seems that it is not as serious an offence in Hawaii as in BC.
One thing that makes me very sad is the number of poor workers I hear mouthing off against those who are poorer still. The workers at nearby Jean-Talon Market are on the minimum wage if that, and the number of times I've heard them mouthing off about "bums" and layabouts... They are just a work accident away from that status. Alienation is a reality.
lagatta, its called "class warfare". thanks for finding the link. You will also find information about el gordo on blogs such as Laila Yuille, Norm Farrell's In-sight.ca; the late Rafe Mair; RossK's The Gazetteer; House of Infamy, blogborg collective, Paying Attention, B.C. Mary. the Tyee is a great source of information. You just need to go back to 2001 when all the fun started. there is also a journalist named Bob MacKin, who spent years trying to extract information from the government. so just go on line and check, B.C. RailGate, B.C. Rail Trials, raid on B.C. legislature; sale of B.C. Rail, B.C. Hydro; ICBC, B.C. Ferries, B.C. Ferries built in Germany and how el gordo got another $750M to balance his budget for 10% interest instead of the 3% interest.
El gordo may be a lot of things, but there is one thing he isn't and that is stupid. he's educated and much smarter than Ford can ever hope to be. that is why Ontario is going to be in real trouble. There is nothing that is going to happen in Ontario that didn't happen in B.C. Just wait until he starts selling off public lands. happened in B.C. One of el gordo's MLA, Stan Hagen approached Crown Isle, a large golf resort community to offer them land, which we thought was a park, for $350K. When the community found out, it had to be sold to the highest bidder. Although we raised $650K, Crown Isle bid $1,3M and got it., Then some long weekend, they moved in the logging equipment and clear cut half of it, which included the head waters of a fish bearing stream, eagles nests, rare plants, bird habitat and now still looks like a moon scape. However, given the price of lumber. I'd expect crown Isle made their million back by selling the lumber.
when I asked a friend why the province didn't keep the land to use in land settlement claims by the First Nations, their response, was the el gordo's government sold off all the really good land before they went to the negotiating table.
We also had a regulation here that forested land had to be re planted, whether it was privately held or public, when logged. el gordo passed a law which removed that requirement for private land owners,. Given 80% of privately owned land on Vancouver Island is held by timber West, you know things aren't so great for a lot of animals and fish.
remember Gordon Campbell was one of the few Canadians ever invited to attend a Bilderberg conference, in Europe, that ought to tell you enough.
Yes, of course it is class warfare. I deliberately quoted the Tyee because of its quality reporting on environmental, labour and other important issues, though it was not hard to find the story in MSM. It is important to recognize that this was not a "technical" case of say, a beer too many, but someone who was indulging in very potentially lethal behaviour. He is also someone who could have easily afforded to take a taxi.
Oh, yes he truly could have afforded a taxi or limo. So the story goes he had been visiting a well know radio personality and his spousal unit at his home and then el gordo left after an evening of consuming beverages. Now some say el gordo was not with his wife. Who the other woman was or was not remains not so much a questions as nice gossip. there was enough of that after he sold his family home, his wife moved to Schelt where she was a school principle and he got on with his life. So the rumour goes in B.C. the wife only shows up for "show events" you know to look like a good family man and all that sort of shit.
In my opinion: el gordo didn't care who he would have killed.
el gordo has never really, cared about anyone but himself.
I'm sure he is getting paid handsomely, because for all his time in politics I don't think he ever went into it rich. He was a lawyer but not one of Vancouver's elite lawyers.
The Tyee is good. However, some of the blogs I mentioned really have the more in depth information. Norm Farrell's blog, In-Sight.ca specializes in "where is the money, who got the money, how the taxpayers didn't get the money, how the corporations got the money". Its always a great read. He does extensive research and uses the government's own figures to demonstrate how much money corportions made off of the B.C. Lieberals, el gordo et al. It might interest you because that is what is going to happen in Ontario. If you're an environmentalist, read about Mount Polley and the dam collapse.
DOFO "For the RICH people" DOFO
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