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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

From August 29, 2018.

Premier Ford and Minister Rickford make an announcement at Troy's Diner in Milton



From link.

Question asked at 30:42:​
​
"You had previously promised to put your company into a blind trust, records online show that you seem to have transferred control to your family members, can you explain exactly you have done and tell us if it's enough to separate your interests in the company from your interests for the public as Premier?"​
​
Doug Ford's response: "... I've made directors my wife, and four girls directors, not to have actual day-to-day involvement, just as directors."​
​
The definition of "Blind Trust" is "Type of trust in which the trustor (who is usually also the beneficiary of this trust) is prevented from knowing how his or her money is invested by the trustee. Blind trusts are created to avoid any potential conflict of interest between the duties of a public officeholder and his or her choice of investment portfolio. The trust funds are placed at the full discretion of a trustee (such as a trust company) independent of the trustor in name and reality."​
​
Ford also commented in his answer that he is "just too busy" and doesn't have any time to be involved in his business. ​
​
Given the involvement of his immediate spouse and daughters, it seems reasonable there is still a financial interest for Ford, and not significant enough assurances that there not currently, nor will there be, conflicts of interest. The arrangement also does not seem to pass as a reasonable interpretation of a "Blind Trust", or the way it was marketed as such during the campaign.​
 
LILLEY: After fast and furious 2018, Ford will keep foot on the gas in new year

See link.

Doug Ford didn’t think he was going to spend 2018 in provincial politics, let alone spending half of the year as premier of Ontario.

“I declared I was running for mayor,” Ford reminded me during a phone interview.

Ford had set his sights on taking on Toronto Mayor John Tory in a rematch of the 2014 mayoral race.

In that contest, Ford stepped in late to take over the mantle from his sick brother Rob, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Despite the late entry, Ford came within striking distance of Tory four years ago and wanted 2018 to be a rematch.

Then came Jan. 24, 2018.

That was the night that changed everything in Ontario politics and made 2018 one of the most dramatic political times in recent memory.

A report by CTV National News was scheduled to run at 10 pm accusing then-PC Party leader Patrick Brown of sexual misconduct.
Click to expand...

There had been rumours and speculation about Brown among political staffers and journalists in the months leading up to that point. Countless conversations had ended with the conclusion that the Toronto Star would attempt to drop allegations against Brown just close enough to the election to help Kathleen Wynne secure another majority government.

Brown had taken the party higher in the polls in his three years as leader and had improved party finances but there were those rumours and there was unrest among the grassroots.

So when CTV was moving ahead with their story, Brown tried to get out in front.

I was hosting my radio show on Newstalk 580 CFRA when I got an email alert that Brown would be holding a news conference just before 10 pm. While the subject hadn’t been mentioned and CTV had not leaked their story, it could only mean bad news was coming.

Brown’s appearance before the cameras was short.
Click to expand...

He denied allegations that none of us had yet heard. He refused to take questions, then looked lost and dishevelled as he walked out of the legislature being chased by cameras and peppered with questions.

He hadn’t resigned but three key advisors did in the middle of Brown’s statement.

During a late night conference call with the PC Caucus, Brown announced he would issue a statement saying he was stepping down as leader.

Enter Doug Ford.

Ford would skip running against Tory in a race to lead Toronto and instead seek the premier’s post for Ontario.
Click to expand...

“When Patrick Brown stepped down I changed gears very quickly. Best decision of my life,” Ford said.

Ford had been involved in PC Party politics off and on for years.

Despite Ford’s significant influence, pull and connections, he had been shoved aside by Brown, who was concerned Ford would outshine him. Ford had shown his influence in helping the PCs win a breakthrough by-election in Scarborough and Brown felt threatened.

With Brown gone, the party was wide open for Ford to step in.

The smart set was convinced Ford could never win. Macleans columnist Paul Wells, a man with decades of experience covering politics, summed up the establishment thought in a Jan. 29 tweet: “Just so we’re clear here: there is no chance Doug Ford will lead the Ontario Conservatives. Suspense now is over whether he realizes this.”

“Doug Ford running. Christmas does NOT in fact only come once a year,” tweeted radio host John Moore.

What these men and other establishment types failed to grasp was the level of unrest among PC Party members over the direction Brown had taken the party.

While Brown sought the blessing of CBC listeners and Toronto Star reading types with his backing of a carbon tax, the grassroots were livid. They didn’t want to replace Kathleen Wynne with a man who would keep her worst policies in place.

Ford spoke to that side of the party.
Click to expand...

After a quick leadership race, in which Ford squeaked by runner-up Christine Elliott, it was straight into the provincial election.

There were just 46 days between the allegations being levelled against Brown and Ford winning the party leadership.

There were only 90 days from that point until election day.

The same smart set that claimed Ford could never win the PC Party leadership were now saying he couldn’t win the election.

They were wrong once again.

My prediction at the time was that Ford would do very well in the GTA but not as well as an establishment type like Elliott would have in places like London or Ottawa. People in those cities didn’t know Doug Ford and some were prone to believe the false comparisons to Donald Trump.

In the end, my prediction was close to accurate but Ford and the PCs did better than I expected, taking 40.5% of the vote — a stronger majority than Trudeau and his Liberals had gotten federally.
Click to expand...

Not that you would know it from the media coverage. While Trudeau is still celebrated for every move by many in the media, every move Ford makes is treated with suspicion or described as controversial.

It’s a point not lost on the premier.

“The ferociousness of some of the media is shocking,” Ford told me. “Certain parts of media jumped in and decided they would be the official opposition.”

Ford specifically points to CBC, the Star and the Globe and Mail as media outlets more interested in an agenda than fair reporting.
Click to expand...

To some "folks", Doug Ford is an angel. But then, so was Lucifer.
 
Did anyone read Saturday's lengthy G&M article " Searching for Boris " ? That's Boris Birshtein who seems to have been connected with just about everyone in the former USSR, including Putin, and who winds up in north Toronto under suspicious circumstances. He also happens to be the former father in law of Mr. Shnaider of the rebranded Trump Tower fiasco along with a certain Donald Trump. When the mystery prevails about the whereabouts of Mr. Birshtein, the investigative reporter Mark MacKinnon attempted to visit the elusive Boris at his home, only to receive a phone call from Gavin Tighe calling him to back off. And this is where it gets interesting. Gavin Tighe has represented the Fords " through a series of scandals ", and " was recently awarded by the Ford government to a four- year $667,000 contract to serve as chair of the province's Public Accountants Council, a body whose job, according to it's website, is to " ensure that public accounting in Ontario is practised in accordance with internationally respected public accounting standards ".
 
W. K. Lis said:
LILLEY: After fast and furious 2018, Ford will keep foot on the gas in new year
See link.
To some "folks", Doug Ford is an angel. But then, so was Lucifer.
Click to expand...
A good summary on Ford.
He's definitely not perfect, but overall he has done reasonably well. I would likely give him a grade of B or B+. We do need to wait another year before we can say for sure.
An announcement (either proceeding with, or altering) on ECLRT, and FWLRT, and possibly announcing a full Fall Budget, would have helped.
 
Last edited:
BurlOak said:
A good summary on Ford.
He's definitely not perfect, but overall he has done reasonably well. I would likely give him a grade of B or B+. We do need to wait another year before we can say for sure.
An announcement (either proceeding with, or altering) on ECLRT, and FWLRT, and possibly announcing a full Fall Budget, would have helped.
Click to expand...

He's done "reasonably well"? Are you just trolling now? He hasn't initiated anything that wasn't negative aside from minor things like allowing private pot shops and expanding LCBO hours.

On actual important files, he's been nothing but a disaster. 6 months in he's a strong candidate for the worst premier. If you can't see that, then there's something wrong with you.
 
W. K. Lis said:
LILLEY: After fast and furious 2018, Ford will keep foot on the gas in new year

See link.













To some "folks", Doug Ford is an angel. But then, so was Lucifer.
Click to expand...

Given the author's bona fides (founding member of Rebel Media and all that), no surprise to see the positive review. If buck-a-beer and more free fishing days made the year-end highlight reel, the well is truly shallow.
I'm still waiting to see what the mess and chaos with the OPP are (other than that which he created).
 
BurlOak said:
A good summary on Ford.
He's definitely not perfect, but overall he has done reasonably well. I would likely give him a grade of B or B+. We do need to wait another year before we can say for sure.
An announcement (either proceeding with, or altering) on ECLRT, and FWLRT, and possibly announcing a full Fall Budget, would have helped.
Click to expand...
The thing I like about him is that he seems to have the right enemies, and does not want to waste money on obvious vanity projects that were only done for political reasons such as the French Language university and cutting things like the Driveclean program. These are good decisions and shows that he doesn't care about the "sacred cows."

On a personal level I do not like him but I would reelect him if an election happened tomorrow.
 
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