The only person pleased with Doug Ford as premier of Ontario is likely his tailor. You can take old suits in but it is obvious if you try to let them out. And nobody in Ontario is packing on the new pounds faster than our premier. You get the impression that there are those who hope he bloats to the degree that he will explode.
The other day Fatso was threatening 55,000 education workers (other than teachers) that they will force his hand if they go on strike. It was an interesting choice of words but somewhat careless. If he passed a law saying they were essential workers, they would have right to arbitration and probably end up with more than the 11 per cent (over three years) they said they wanted originally.
Ford’s problem is that the three major teachers’ unions are warming up in the bull pen. They are keeping an eye on what those education workers get and they will hardly settle for anything less.
And then, the Ontario nurses are next in line. They are prepared to go to the wall with the Ford government. They cannot strike but a work-to-rule would tie Ontario’s healthcare in knots. And that we can ill-afford.
What we also need to watch for are shovels in the ground on the route of Ford’s highway 413. That abomination defies all reasonable planning in Ontario. The simple fact is that another east-west highway in that area is not needed. The loss of good farmland in that part of Ontario is criminal. The loss of aquifer and wetlands in the area is serious for the remaining farms.
And I hardly think we have heard the last about the Ford government’s solution to clearing some beds in our hospitals. A couple years back I had a conversation with the person responsible for clearing beds in our local hospital. I was even more eager to get out of that hospital than they were to be rid of me. They were feeding me the worst food I have ever had in a hospital. I was also losing weight every day in the physiotherapy. I was struggling with it to get me in shape to go home. If they had moved me out to a long-term-care facility, there likely would have been no physio. I would not have been able to get home as quickly.
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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
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