Doug Ford, described by one American journalist as a “fascinating politician who is a cross between Chris Farley and John Candy”, knows how to sell retail politics.
It was on display in the recent Ontario election. While the other party leaders talked about giving every Ontario resident a family doctor within four years (next to impossible) and climate change, Ford was talking about standing up to the ever-and-present menace called Donald Trump, and protecting Ontario jobs.
It worked.
Remember Ford’s buck-a-beer? Corny, but it didn’t hurt.
And then there was the $200 rebate (aka Dougie Dollars) Ontario residents (aka voters) received before the election. (It was a page from the Mike Harris playbook). Again, corny (not to mention being on the side of vote buying) but it didn’t hurt.
Now it’s bail reform and his musing – some call it a rant – about the need for ‘tougher judges’.
And while groups that represent judges and defence lawyers, along with the opposition leaders, howl, polls show that Joe Public believes victims of crime have a tough time finding justice in the lumbering justice system, where it takes three years to get a murder trial up and running.
They complain that under Ford, 70% of new judges have been selected from prosecution offices. Joe Public could care less. In fact, most would probably applaud the appointment of tough prosecutors over ‘soft-on-crime’ defence attorneys.
Ford’s ‘tough on crime’ talk reflects the mood of the average Ontario voter who believes the accused is treated better than the victim, and that the screws on the bail system – especially when it comes to repeat offenders – need to be tightened.
MAY 1961: City council approved a new industrial waste site on Tollgate Road between McConnell Avenue and Boundary Road. The site was leased from R. M. Vance for $4,000 a year. While the owner agreed to build a road to the site and bulldoze bury the waste, the city hired and paid the sole employee, a gate attendant. The Ontario Street dump site was closed. … An investigation by the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office failed to pinpoint the cause of an explosion that destroyed an apartment building on the northwest corner of Guy Street and Montreal Road on Feb. 18. Two brothers working in the basement said when they lit a lighter there was a loud roar and a blue flame. They said there was no odour of gas. They escaped serious injury. … A large home at First and Augustus streets, built in 1861 and known as The Elms, was torn down. It was built by A. P. Ross, a local blacksmith and carriage maker. Years later it was occupied by Dr. D. O. Alguire. The last tenant was the United Counties Health Unit, which became part of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit. … Construction of the Memorial Recreation Centre at the Athletic Grounds was nearing completion. It would later be renamed the Bob Turner Memorial Centre – The Bob – in honour of the late Bob Turner, Cornwall’s first parks and recreation director. … Grade 8 students at Central Public School honoured for all-round achievement were John Worrall, Brian Smith, Richard Robillard, Darlene Aikins, Patricia Clark and Louis Ratelle. … Cornwall native John McGillivray planned to build a zoological garden on a 20-acre leased parcel of land on the north side of Vincent Massey Drive just west of Tollgate Road. … St. Lawrence Parks Commission increased the cost of a season pass to $3. There were complaints that the 50-cent increase was unfair to families. … George Michael Maloney of St. Andrew’s was ordained to the priesthood in his home church. … Paul Lapointe and Bernie Currier of Cornwall finished their second season with the Clarkson College Golden Knights. … The Vancouver Lions (later called B. C. Lions) secured the rights to Cornwall natives Don (end) and Kent Plumley (quarterback) who played for Queen’s University Golden Gaels. Both graduated from Queen’s with law degrees. … President John Kennedy turned 44 on May 29. He was the youngest person to serve as president, and also the first Roman Catholic. … Top award winners at the annual St. Lawrence High School athletic dinner were Doug Carpenter, Ray Payette, Don Dupuis, Norm Seymour, Dennis Jacobs and Ron Barrie.
REMEMBER WHEN: National Hockey League playoffs were over by mid-April and players sold beer or cars in the offseason to earn some extra cash. And they went to training camp to get in shape. … A $2 standing room ticket at the old Montreal Forum and $1.25 steaks at the Forum tavern. The long-time standing room fixture and super Hab fan called Dutchie (van Eden) who came armed with a mega phone and led fans in the unilingual English rally cry – Go Habs Go. He was accompanied by a friend on a trumpet. In 1975 the Canadiens banned Dutchie because of ‘noise’ complaints. Some claimed it was a language thing, which considering this was in the 1970s when separation was a hot item, was more believeable than the noise story.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Gerald Parisien, CJSS news commentator, and Brian Sylvester, a CJSS on-air personality, both served as mayor of Cornwall. Parisien served from 1974-1985 (four terms), while Sylvester was mayor from 1998-2003 (two terms). Parisien retired. Sylvester was defeated by Phil Poirier.
TRIVIA: Three of these Canadian celebrities were born in London, Ont., two at the same hospital: 1) Mike Myers, 2) Ryan Reynolds, 3) Justin Bieber, 4) Ryan Gosling, 5) Rachel McAdams, 6) Howie Mandel, 7) Margot Kidder.
QUOTED – The man who never makes a mistake must get tired of doing nothing. – Will Rogers
