Schreiner's Surprised That Question Period's Not Better on the Inside

It seems that dreams don't come true in quite the way you think. After a rough month in the legislature where the new Ford government has cancelled cap and trade, ended green energy contracts, and generally thrown a monkey wrench into the best laid plans of Ontario's progressives, Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner rose in the legislature yesterday to smack everyone down for their partisan tendencies.

Ford Decision on Regional Chairs Doesn't Let Waterloo Off the Hook

On Friday, Premier Doug Ford announced that the Ontario government was cancelling the elections for regional chair in York, Peel, Niagara, and Muskoka. But wait a minute, there are already regional chairs established in Halton, Durham, and one more... Where was that regional chair, again? Oh yeah, Waterloo!

Meet Your New Ontario Cabinet and Parliamentary Assistants

The new Premier of Ontario was sworn in under the unrelenting summer sun today outside Queen's Park. We've known for weeks that Doug Ford would be the new head of the province, but what abour your favourite ministries: Health! Infrastructure! Attorney General! Education! Well wonder no more! Below is the complete list of cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries in alphabetical order.

Wynne Admits She Won't Be Premier After Thursday

In a surprising moment, in an election filled with surprising moments, the current Premier of the Province of Ontario confessed that her days in the office are numbered, and that she's unlikely to emerge the victor of Thursday's vote. Instead, Kathleen Wynne wants you to send a minority message to the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives.

Leaders Debate? Schreiner Says He'll Be There With "Grassroots Demand"

Despite a grassroots effort, a Change.org petition, and the seal of approval from the Premier herself, a consortium of broadcasters announced yesterday that Green Party leader, and Guelph MPP candidate, Mike Schreiner will not be taking part in the main televised leadership debate on May 27. Schreiner, himself, is not impressed.

Dorgo Makes a Case for Himself as PC Nominee

Steven Dorgo is at his most animated when talking about the possibilities of Diyode, Guelph's "do-it-yourself" community workshop. Dorgo says life is about more than you're job, it's about unwinding from that work stress, indulging your creative instincts, and using your hands to make stuff. It's something he thinks that the present provincial government hasn't taken into account, which is one of the reasons why he wants to run for office... as the PC candidate.

How Did Guelph PCs Vote for the Leader?

Doug Ford is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. No matter how you feel about that development, it happened, and now the starting line-up for 2018 Provincial Election is set. But before moving on, let's take another look back. How did Guelph members of the PC Party vote in their highly contentious leadership campaign?

Doug Ford Gets At Least One Endorsement

Last night, on his HBO series Last Week Tonight, comedian John Oliver gave the first and only endorsement for Doug Ford. I don't think it's to be taken seriously.

Ford Caps One of Those Weeks With a YouTube Return*

Why does he do the things he does? How does he get away with it? How does one man have enough gaffs to sink any 20 politicians, but can still stand well enough to be a contender and hold on to his job in the next election? I'm more than halfway though Robyn Dolittle's book Crazy Town, and I still don't know the answer to those questions and many more. What I do know is that no matter anything else that might be going on, Mayor Rob Ford just can't stop himself.

Meaning? Well, in a week that included the release of a not-so-flattering book that was all about him, the Mayor got busted jaywalking in Vancouver, got caught in repeated acts of drunken clubbing while supposedly being in B.C. to attend a memorial for a friend's mom, he proudly and pointedly stated his refusal to attend Pride 2014, and then made a fuss about the hoisting of a Pride flag at City Hall to protest Russia's anti-gay laws before taping up a Canadian flag in his office window in protest to the protest. And then today, there was this...

Confusing Process for Democracy

As Toronto City Hall went into meltdown earlier this week, many looked to a higher power to do something about the pending situation with Rob Ford and his stubborn refusal to step down, and that higher power was the Ontario Legislature led by Premier Kathleen Wynne. This is where politics get even more political though because when you have a left-leaning politician threatening to sanction a right-leaning politician, no matter how justified, fur is going to fly.

Of course, I think Wynne is far too shrewd to put herself in a position to set a precedent like having a Premier turf a duly-elected and sitting Mayor of Toronto, but that didn't stop Ford's allies from playing defense. Still, twice this week, I've heard both Cllr. Doug Ford and the Toronto Sun's Joe Warmington use the phrase "unelected premier," when talking about Wynne. It's a phrase I hadn't heard in a while, but it does two things, suggest that Wynne has no power, and if she does, then she has no authority to use it. I had thought we were past this because it's both silly and incorrect, but here we go again, confusing process for democracy. 

Let this Be Your Last Rob Ford Article

It's getting so that keeping up with the goings on of embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is a full-time job, In fact, I think the Toronto Star has 3 or 4 people on it. But just as today's debate in city hall, which at times seemed like a trial with 43 prosecutors, looked like it was coming in for a landing, a judge decided to throw napalm on the out-of-control fire that's burning in Ford Nation by un-redacting more of those police documents from the investigation into Ford's alliances, and the picture it paints ain't pretty. As Ford emphatically stated again and again that he was not an addict on the council floor, police documents recounted one night where the Mayor finished a 40 oz bottle of vodka, took Oxy, snorted coke, and consorted with a woman believed to be a sex worker while sexually harassing one staffer, and calling a taxi driver a "Paki." And you thought you partied hard.

Guelph Politicast Extra - Today's Ford News

So it turns out that when he said he didn't, he did. Today's revelation by Mayor Rob Ford that he did indeed smoke crack though he can't remember the circumstances or the fact that somebody filmed it, came as something as a shock. But it was secondary to the revelation that Ford, having admitted his mistake (finally!), refused to step down, either permanently or temporarily, as a result of his drug use. Between the doings in Toronto and the pending vote to suspend three senators in Ottawa, it's hard to imagine a busier news day, and it seems like a great chance to engage in some of this newfangled rich media like podcasting.

This Week In Rob Ford

Courtesy of the Torontoist

It's been a while since I wrote about Ol' Fordsie, but so much goes down with the Mayor of Toronto this can almost be a weekly, if not daily column. In fact, the "Morning Brew" feature on BlogTO is almost a clip-a-day slice of whatever controversy - major or minor - is presently marching through the Mayor's Office. For Rob Ford, the week began explaining some phone calls he was making, segued into losing his appeal to the Ontario Press Council, then he did a hatchet job on a city employee supposedly caught napping on the job, and is now wrapping up the week with the revelation that Ford wrote a character reference for his good friend Alessandro Lisi, part-time Ford driver, (alleged) full-time drug dealer. Just another week in Ford Nation.

It Takes a Village Idiot

Canada.com posed the question that maybe this whole Mayor's staffer calling in as a "Dave Q. Public" from Etobicoke, Scarborough and Georgetown is much ado about nothing. On the surface, they could be right. In an effort to keep Rob Ford and issues in the news, maybe the mainstream media is latching on to one sort of "scandal" or another in order to keep Ford, a figure of tremendous love or hate stature, in the news for sales and ratings. You'd have to be insane not to think that, but there is something real to this, relatively slight, controversy. 

And That's a Month of Scandal

Oh what a hectic month for political scandals. Seriously, one of things you notice doing a weekly radio show on politics is that there's really not enough time to cover it all, and it just keeps getting worse too. Happening at all levels of government, let's rundown what I like to call the Month of Scandal.

Welcome Back, Fordsie

After a week marred in scandal and surprisingly stark silence, the Ford Brothers were back in fine form yesterday turning their Newstalk 1010 radio show. After the opening rake out, the labeling of the media as "maggots," and a recital of eating establishments they either have visited or plan to visit, the brothers put on a good front of business as usual attitude. Of course, it's easy to not answer questions when you're the one controlling the switchboard, but back at City Hall today it seemed that one press conference and an hour of community radio-style free-for-all hasn't quelled the media's lust for the story that drove the brothers underground last week.

Ford Sticks Foot in Mouth. Not That Ford. And No, Not That Ford Either...

There's been a lot of discussion about the naked ignorance of some of our brethren south of the border when it comes to the issues of sexual assault and human biology, but it seems that some people in Canada really know how to step in it, in a proverbial sense, as well. 

Krista Ford, niece of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and daughter of Councillor Doug Ford, spoke out with some, ahem, advice for women on how to keep themselves safe. There have been a series of rapes recently in the Annex area of Toronto, so naturally, women in the neighbourhood are on guard. It's also natural that another woman, especially with the high profile of being the Mayor's niece, would want to reach out at a time of such tremendous fear, and give some comfort and words of support.