You never know why some people extend regrets to a friendly invitation. Everyone seems to be going on and on about the premier of Ontario going to his lawyers to get him off the list of witness for the Rouleau Inquiry in Ottawa. You would think that in as much as it is the judgement of the Trudeau government that is being questioned here, Mr. Ford would be delighted to help impeach them.
But no. Mr. Ford’s problem is not that he is unhappy maligning the federal liberals. He can do that over his morning cereal. Mr. Ford’s handlers have another problem. It is the problem that he cannot go into the witness box with a teleprompter. Anywhere that Mr. Ford goes these days, his teleprompter equipment goes with him. He has never been taught how to use it properly but it is there for him to keep his feet out of his mouth.
His need for a teleprompter is so serious that one was installed at the funeral for two South Simcoe police officers in Barrie recently. I think it was the first time I had ever seen teleprompter equipment at a funeral. Doug was the only person to use it. Under the circumstances, it was not as hilarious as his usual use of the equipment. He reads a line from one side, turns his head to the other side and reads a line from there.
The fact this is just an inquiry and not a trial, has not changed Doug’s attitude. He knows that his off-the-cuff remarks can cause him trouble. And that might be serious if it got out just how much he was chortling over the discomfort to Ottawa’s liberal politicians.
His other problem is that part of the order for the emergencies act was to solve the needs at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor. Doug had shot off his mouth about the impact that inconvenient blockade was having on Ontario. I doubt that he has gotten around to thanking the prime minister for including that problem. It was easy enough to resolve, once someone told the Ontario provincial police to clean up that mess.
Talking to Ontario conservatives about what a blowhard Doug Ford can be, I often get the response that he sure is, “But he is our blowhard.”
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