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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

Richard White said:
On January 1st 2014 I was at the Eaton Centre during the Ice Storm.

I happened to meet Kathleen Wynne there with her security detail walking through the mall near Aritizia.

She was very polite and I thanked her for her governments help during the Ice Storm when it came to assisting Toronto.

in 2013 during Doors Open I ran into Andrea Horwath in the Bay on Queen without any security. I tore into her for her lame duck policies much like anyone else could have.
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And as we all know, politicians are a particularly reflective demographic of people who would start thinking about what they e done wrong as soon as some random member of the public informs them.
 
Northern Light said:
I'm not sure what your point is, other than to suggest you lacked self-restraint.

I think its ok to approach someone you know, only through the media, in public, though I would tend to suggest not doing so, unless you would have cause to approach them (strike up a conversation) if you did not know them.

You seem to be making the case for security, in case Richard is nearby..........
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I've yet to be detained.

I've also had impromptu run-ins with former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány along with Jack Layton a few times (and even had beer with him).

One day you may see a post here asking for Bail money although that day has yet to come.
 
Richard White said:
On January 1st 2014 I was at the Eaton Centre during the Ice Storm.

I happened to meet Kathleen Wynne there with her security detail walking through the mall near Aritizia.

She was very polite and I thanked her for her governments help during the Ice Storm when it came to assisting Toronto.

in 2013 during Doors Open I ran into Andrea Horwath in the Bay on Queen without any security. I tore into her for her lame duck policies much like anyone else could have.
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Do tell what you said to her...
 
Towered said:
Andrea - I want the spice!
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I can only say so much as I used more than a few expletives.

That said, I expressed my displeasure at how she could talk the talk but not walk the walk. I was upset with how she was talking about how bad and unaffordable things were without actually doing anything. Her excuse was that it was a majority government so nothing could be done.

I made it clear in no uncertain terms how she was not fit to be leader and how any idiot with a McJob would be better.

At that point, I was very unhappy with the NDP which even today is a cult. I was ostracized by my local riding association (of which I was a ranking member) because I did not support her and drink the Kool-Aid

In the NDP it is all about supporting the leader no matter what your personal feelings are and trust me I have a few. Even now, they vote in the most incompetent people because they are the flavor of the month.

The last decent leader of the ONDP was Howard Hampton, after that the party changed and their supporters went with whoever the party brass said was to be the next leader. This is likely why there were no challengers to Marit Stiles.

Unfortunately, the NDP need a fundamental change at the organizational level if they are to ever see power again.
 
Richard White said:
In the NDP it is all about supporting the leader no matter what your personal feelings are and trust me I have a few.
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But it's that way with every party (not that I agree with it). Doug Ford has been pilloried I don't know how many times by political cartoonists and pundits as king of the clapping seals.
 
Northern Light said:
I'm happy to agree to that, though not sure it should be done via the OPP's plane, presumably purchased to perform policing duties.

I'm not sure why the gov't can't just charter an aircraft like anyone else, if there is insufficient travel to justify direct ownership.
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Probably as much a matter of semantics, but aircraft exists to support the OPP's mandate and, like it or not, he's part of it. I will certainly agree that a charter would be a better way to go, even a standing contract. And they might do that. This is the first time I've noticed that it's been raised and it's not the first time he's travelled. Either it was a one-off because it was a last minute decision, or nobody has picked up on it before. No doubt some enterprising warrior will FOI the flight logs.

Northern Light said:
Yeah.....about that............'they all do it' is not a good excuse for anything, ever. Its the type of excuse a former police officer would have heard many times, and I suspect it rarely succeeded as a free pass for a speeding ticket or much of anything else.
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Fair point.

Northern Light said:
I'm of mixed views. It would depend on one's living environment (single-family-home, vs condo etc.)

As well as whether one had young children.

The reality is that most politicians do not get, at-the-door harassment, or invasion of privacy; and when it does occur, its rarely a real thread of violence.

But I do get a pol w/young kids wanting to air on the side of caution.

People with more power and more fame than most Ontario premiers walk around Toronto every day without bodyguards.
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This isn't US presidential security here. Typically, a security assessment of the residence and the installation of an alarm system. Unless there is some specific threat, he gets a driver/bodyguard plus other 'site' assets depending on the venue. He gets dropped off at home at end of day and picked up the next morning.

Most other 'important people' aren't as much in the public eye and directly impacting on citizen's lives and, even at that, most powerful people have drivers and you might be surprised how much they are trained. Most people couldn't recognize the head of MacDonald's Canada but a former school chum of mine was his head of personal security.

I might have been wrong regarding the timeline for Bob Rae but his situation became much more vulnerable after 'Rae Days' were introduced. I'm still thinking it was shortly after he became Premier - there's a lot of crazies out there.
 

Stiles asks Information and Privacy Commissioner and head of Public Service to recover government’s Greenbelt records​


From link.

Official Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles has written to the Information and Privacy Commissioner, as well as to the Secretary of the Cabinet and head of Ontario’s Public Service asking both offices to recover and retain all records pertaining to the Ford government’s changes to the Greenbelt.​
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Stiles's requests follow revelations in the Auditor General’s report of troubling record-keeping practices of staff in the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and media reporting that suggests the Premier uses his personal cell phone to conduct government business.​
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The NDP believes these facts constitute a troubling pattern of behaviour by this government: a pervasive disregard for record-keeping and transparency, and possibly deliberate attempts to avoid public scrutiny.​
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Dear Commissioner Kosseim,

The Auditor General’s Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt produced troubling evidence regarding the record retention practices of staff in the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. This included regularly deleting emails related to Greenbelt undertakings, conducting business with developers by way of paper packages exchanged at a private event, and conveying information from developers using USB keys.

We have also learned that an arbitrator is currently considering an appeal regarding whether the Premier’s personal phone is subject to Freedom of Information requests. This comes after revelations that the Premier has not been using his government cell phone to conduct government business.

The Opposition believes that these facts constitute a troubling pattern of behaviour by this government, demonstrating a pervasive disregard for record-keeping and transparency, and perhaps even intentional attempts to avoid public scrutiny. We believe that this warrants your attention and action.

Ensuring the preservation of all government documents and full compliance with the province’s access to information laws is particularly pressing in light of the Integrity Commissioner’s ongoing Greenbelt investigation, and as the Ontario Provincial Police consider undertaking their own criminal investigation.

For these reasons, we are asking that your office take steps to ensure that all records pertaining to the government’s changes to the Greenbelt are recovered, retained, and publicly disclosed to the greatest extent possible. The Auditor General’s report suggests that this would entail searching government servers for deleted documents, tracking down physical correspondence and hard drives, and identifying any conversations that took place on personal devices and accounts including social media and chat platforms.

The ongoing revelations and outstanding questions about the removal of Greenbelt lands, and who stood to benefit from it, has rightly broken public trust. To rebuild that trust, we must bring the truth to light. Acting now to preserve public documents related to this matter is essential for the accountability, and transparency that Ontarians deserve from their government and institutions.

We thank you in advance for your work to that end.

Sincerely,
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Dear Ms. DiEmanuele,

As Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, I am writing to you in your capacity as Secretary of Cabinet, Head of the Ontario Public Service, and Clerk of the Executive Council to ask for your urgent attention and action to secure servers, documents, and personal and government devices of political staff – including but not limited to staff in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Office of the Premier -- the Premier and Members of Cabinet, relating to ongoing Greenbelt investigations.

The Auditor General’s Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt produced troubling evidence regarding the record retention practices of staff in the office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. This included regularly deleting emails related to Greenbelt undertakings, conducting business with developers by way of paper packages exchanged at a private event, and conveying information from developers using USB keys.

We have also learned that an arbitrator is currently considering an appeal regarding whether the Premier’s personal phone is subject to Freedom of Information requests. This comes after revelations that the Premier has not been using his government cell phone to conduct government business.

In addition to the Auditor General’s now-complete investigation, I have previously asked the Integrity Commissioner to undertake several investigations related to the conduct of the Minister of Housing, his staff, his former staff, and the Premier. We are aware that the Integrity Commissioner has at least one of these investigations underway currently.

Earlier today, I asked the Information and Privacy Commissioner to ensure the preservation of all government documents and full compliance with the province’s access to information laws, and to ensure that any conversations that took place on personal devices and accounts, including social media and chat platforms, were made transparent to ensure a return of the public’s trust and confidence in their government.

For these reasons, we are asking that your office take urgent steps to ensure that all records pertaining to the government’s changes to the Greenbelt are preserved, recovered and retained, including all government servers as the Auditor General’s report suggests a proper investigation would require searching government servers for deleted documents, tracking down physical correspondence and hard drives, and identifying any conversations that took place on personal devices and accounts including social media and chat platforms.

Regardless of the outcome of these other investigations or inquiries, I would like your assurance that your office will do everything in its power to secure these records to support these and future investigations.

Sincerely,
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W. K. Lis said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1692553849926566111
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For those not seeing previews and/or the click-averse:

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Completely and Utterly unacceptable.
 
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