On a Mission

In Ontario we have all been suffering under the leadership of Doug Ford. It started out almost as a joke. Remember the new licence plates he ordered, where the paint wore off after just a few weeks? Or the “buck a beer” campaign? We all laughed at this big goof, never imagining that he could figure out how to do us real harm.

But now the tide has turned and we have enough documented evidence to be worried. During the pandemic, Ford killed thousands of older people by not overseeing the running of for-profit nursing homes which, as it turns out, were owned by his rich buddies or campaign donors. Then he tried to usurp public lands, notably the greenbelt, for housing developments, once again owned by buddies and donors. Recently we were overwhelmed by his decision to tear down the Ontario Science Centre and rebuild just a tiny part of it somewhere inside his posh new spa at Ontario Place.

Cries of “Ford Has To Go!” rang out. Peter and I heard the call. We are on a mission – to find a replacement for Doug Ford.

First we assessed the political landscape and joined the liberal party. A few dollars for membership is a small price to pay to have a say in Ontario’s future. Yes, the liberal party has made mistakes in the past, McGinty’s gas plants for example. And, during the last election Steven Del Duca did not inspire nearly enough confidence in voters.

When Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie announced her decision to run, we went to her opening day meet-and-greet. It was a pub, with wine and snacks. We met her partner who was supportive from behind, a great place for a partner in this endeavour. We greeted her son, Jonathan, whom we already knew from his involvement in previous elections. We were introduced to another campaign worker, a man I knew because he has donated hundreds of children’s books to our local food bank. We met Bonnie’s mom, likely in her late 80’s – in a pub at 9:00 pm. Pretty good support all around.

At the next public event, Crombie and 4 other candidates met for a short presentation. It was more business-like. Only coffee and cookies were served. Each of the 5 candidate spoke for about 5-10 minutes and I must tell you that all of them seemed worthy, They all have university degrees and speak well. Each has political experience, either as an MP or an MPP. But we didn’t hear much about their platforms that night.

At our third event we listened to an actual debate. No food was served that night – it was all business, One candidate had dropped out in order to throw his support behind Crombie, but the other 4 all talked for a couple of hours, answering questions submitted by the panel. In short, they mostly agreed on the big issues: affordable housing, health care, and cost of living. Once again, we felt that any of them could run our province effectively. But the big question still remained: Which one of them could defeat Doug Ford? Stay tuned for the next blog post.

Only kidding… Peter and I have to make up our minds by next Sunday, voting day for liberal party members. We were disappointed when 2 of the candidates joined together to try to defeat Crombie. It has a feel of anti-feminism we just can’t get past. Crombie has done well as Mayor of Mississauga, and as MP before that. She has the political experience and the smarts. Most of all, she is feisty. We can really imagine her standing on stage with Ford, and fighting back. She will not let him push her around.

So, dear readers, on Sunday we will be voting for Bonnie Crombie on behalf of you, the residents of Ontario. You deserve someone better than you have, as Premier.

Sue