Only the Ontario liberals could fail to look ahead. They decided to have a leadership contest, so leisurely, it is putting the party to sleep. They need to wake up and understand the provincial political situation. Instead of having the time for this wrongly planned leadership, the party could still be running a leadership race in the midst of a provincial election.
This possibility has been evident since the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) tossed the Greenbelt ball to the federal Mounted Police. It was deemed too political a situation for the police controlled by the provincial government.
The watch dogs of the Ontario legislature might have no teeth in their arsenal but they can write scathing reports. Their reports on the Greenbelt scandal make the best ‘whodunit’ reading. They did not report malfeasance lightly. And they showed a clear path of blame to the premier’s office at Queen’s Park.
We have all watched as the scapegoats were selected and led to the slaughter. The public was offered the underlings who could be rewarded for their loyalty later.
But the game is not over. Scapegoats are not the prize that the RCMP will accept to prosecute. They want bigger targets. And we all know who are the best friends forever of Ontario’s premier. Arranging for your BFFs to be put in a position to make more than $8 billion in such an egregious manner could be considered a criminal offence. And it could only be carried out from the premier’s office.
And, wonder of wonders, some of these developers, being in position to make such profits, are BFFs of the premier. Some of them had befriended him in the four years he spent on Toronto City council being taught politics by his late brother Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto at the time.
The evidence goes back to when Doug Ford was first running for election to Queen’s Park. The news media reported that Mr. Ford had a secret meeting with some of Ontario’s developers. He was reported to have told them that he would open up the Greenbelt for them. All the Mounties need to do is to get one or two of those developers to turn state’s evidence and they can go to a judge for arrest warrants.
Doug Ford’s resignation would be expected before he goes to trial. The Ontario election would quickly follow.
-30-
Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to: