Doug Ford: Ontario's closet leftist
Bill 67 could see the end of Ford's regime in a few months' time
I was surprised when Ontario Conservative’s made Doug Ford leader of the party. He is not the brightest light on the Christmas tree and other potential candidates to lead the party like Rod Philips or Christine Elliot had indisputable competence. But Ford’s folky style and his once popular late brother seemed to give him an edge that propelled him into party leadership.
Under Ford’s leadership, the Ontario Conservative party has shifted to the left. Ford mandated vaccines with threats that Ontarians would be fired if they did not submit to vaccination and declared a state of emergency in Ontario to quell the Freedom Convoy’s anti-mandate protests. Personal freedom and freedom of speech and assembly seemed vacant from his thought process and his policies seemed more like those emanating from Justin Trudeau than from a Conservative government. At the time, I thought those were just a small step to the left and like most dances would be followed by a step to the right. Ford moved quickly to end COVID restrictions compared to Ottawa and stopped short of calling the truckers “racists, misogynists and Nazi’s” which was Justin Trudeau’s take on the peaceful protests, and Ontario did not enact legislation to seize anyone’s bank accounts or crush their livelihoods like Trudeau did. In the circumstances, like many Ontarians, I gave Ford a pass.
Not so with Bill 67, now in third reading. That overtly racist legislation is disguised as anti-racism legislation and intends to bring Critical Race Theory (CRT) to Ontario schools and Universities. Former Conservative member of the Legislature Rick Nicholls blew the whistle on what was really going on. Nicholls was tossed out of the Conservative caucus by Ford for opposing the vaccine mandates (good for him, it is always nice to see a speck of common sense among our elected representatives) and actually voted for Bill 67 misled by its “anti-racism” presentation, only to learn on a more detailed review that the Bill was going to make racism against white Ontarians mandatory in our education system.
CRT has been the subject of a lot of controversy in the United States and may be the force that motivates parents to shift their support to Republicans from Democrats in the November 2022 elections. It is now clear that CRT was the most important factor in turning Blue areas into Red areas in local elections in America. American parents don’t want their children force fed left wing narratives claiming that being white makes you an “oppressor” regardless of your personal character or beliefs and that being "black” makes you a victim regardless of your personal success or achievements. That “identity politics” is destructive and may be the most divisive factor in society South of the border today.
Now Doug Ford is bringing it to Canada, climbing on board the legislation proposed by Laura Mae Lindo, an NDP member of the Legislature and activist. The draft Act is rife with protections for indigenous, black, Asian and other visible minority Ontarians but makes it clear that white Ontarians are fair game for overtly racist actions not only by individuals but also by governments and effectively defines anyone with white skin as “racist” by virtue solely of their skin colour. If it passes, teachers and university professors will be mandated to promote “anti-racist” policies including policies that target white people for being white.
A good discussion of the pernicious nature of Bill 67 is hosted by Jordan Peterson on YouTube. It is worth the hour or so it takes to watch.
If the Conservative party wants to retain power in the coming election, Conservatives need to act quickly to oust Doug Ford and find a leader who is actually conservative.