No Such Thing as Common Sense

Last Friday, November 13, marked the eighth month since the COVID-19 lockdown in Ottawa. Two Friday the Thirteenths, one global pandemic.

Remember when we were young and naive, when we thought we'd lock ourselves away for three or four weeks—six at the most—and then life would go back to normal? We'd keep our distance from one another, wash our hands, and use hand sanitizer? As more evidence of the situation came to light, we learned that we should wear masks when indoors or when a two-metre distance from strangers was hard to maintain?

Good times.

The federal government told us that it had our backs, that they would help us through the rough patch were we couldn't go to work, and billions were spent in relief initiatives.

Whew.

But the provincial government grew wary of the lockdown, was eager to help struggling businesses get back on their feet, and so restaurants, pubs, gyms, and other social gathering spots opened up. And the summer was nice, so people went out and had a good time.

And the number of cases of infected people went up and up.

Crap.

The federal government, at the start of relief measures, gave the Ontario provincial government a lot of money to help with relief. And since June, Doug Ford has been sitting on $9.3B of that relief. All the while, letting restaurants and gyms stay open.

Fuck.

When the number infected rises and people are not following the recommendations of the health experts, Ford has simply said that he's disappointed, and that those people should stop this irresponsible behaviour.

Essentially, wagging his finger.

We took stronger measures eight months ago when the total number of cases for the country was lower than the daily cases for a single city. Meanwhile, I haven't been able to hug my mother. Only my immediate family and I had dinner together on Thanksgiving. I haven't been able to get together with friends. I've kept away from pubs and restaurants.

Because I want the pandemic to end.

We're not flattening the curve.

We need a mandatory lockdown of all non-essential services. The Ontario government needs to spend that relief money to help businesses forced to close their doors. We need to implement a curfew, where people need to stay home unless they need groceries.

Tough fines need to be issued to those who break curfew.

Let's do this for six weeks.

If we had these strict measures at the beginning, we would likely be in a much better situation than we are now. But the government has taken inaction, opting to rely on people's common sense for being out in public. The problem is, there's no such thing as common sense.

If there are no firm regulations, if there are only guidelines, people will try to get away with as much as they can.

I'm tired of this pandemic. I want it to end. But unless the provincial government cracks down, we can kiss Christmas and New Year's Eve goodbye.

You're supposed to be a leader, Doug Ford. Lead.

Your number-one priority is to work toward the end of COVID. Businesses and the economy come second. Because without the first priority, the rest just won't matter.

I've been a good boy.

Election Woes

Great, Ontario PCs, just great.

You had to go and fuck things up. Has what is happening in the United States not taught you anything?

The Americans have a person in the White House who is unqualified, uneducated, and self-serving. He is a polarizing populist who is tearing his country apart. Given the opportunity, he would start World War III.

Very few Ontarians like Kathleen Wynne and her Liberals, and many who, in the past, have supported her party, are having a tough time wanting to support her again.

I'm one of those people.

I voted Liberal in the last Ontario election because (and this is no surprise) I usually vote for the Liberals, but most importantly, I voted Liberal because the then-leader of the Ontario PCs was Tim Houdak seemed to be a bumbling moron who got his facts wrong, was too socially conservative for my liking, and seemed to run a campaign on fear and misinformation.

I wasn't happy with the corruption that seemed to be underlying the Liberals, but by voting for Wynne, I was hedging my bets for my riding, was trying to ensure that the PCs wouldn't get in.

I haven't always voted for the Liberals. In 1990, I was one of the many who became disappointed with David Peterson, especially when he called for an early election, at just three years into his mandate. At the time, there was a new, unknown leader of the PCs, some Mike Harris, and a veteran politician, Bob Rae, of the NDP.

I voted for Rae. Let's face it: it would take a radical change of my values to vote for a conservative party. And anyway, my values lean more toward New Democrats than even the Liberals.

I even voted for Rae in 1995, though by then it was pretty clear that his party wasn't going to win another term. It's too bad, really. I liked Bob. I still respect him to this day, even though he's now left the political scene.

Shortly after the last elections, I had my misgivings about voting Liberal, and as the years have passed, I've been thinking that this left-of-centre party has become too settled, that Ontarians have been paying too much for electricity and for insurance, and it's time for a change.

But it's not time for Doug Ford. It's never time for Doug Ford.

For the last couple of months, I've actually taken a bit of twisted delight in watching the Ontario PCs slowly implode. The sexual misconduct allegations against Patrick Brown, followed by the in-party finger-pointing, and then his expulsion from caucus.

When the leadership race was announced, there was no surprise that Christine Elliot had thrown her hat into the ring. This was her third attempt to become the leader of her party. There was an unknown candidate, Tanya Granic Allen, a candidate that was known for her (in)famous father, Caroline Mulroney, and then there was Doug.

Bumbling, classless, loud-mouthed Doug.

Doug likened himself to Ontario's Trump, and he was proud of that claim. Even though Trump's base has shrunk, his popularity was diminishing, Ford wanted to be our Trump.

I truly hope that Ontarians are smarter than those who voted for Trump, and put the good of our province over their loyalty to a party. If we want to make Ontario great, we must shy away from anyone who says that he alone can make life better.

Because Ford has become the Ontario PCs' new leader, he's fucked up my plans. I wasn't going to vote Liberal, this election. I was going to follow my heart, let the Liberals know that I'm loyal to my values, not to a party, and vote for Andrea Horwath. I've liked her for years, but felt that in my riding, her party was a long shot. But with the Liberals losing support and the PCs in disarray, I thought that this could be the chance for the NDP to make inroads in my riding.

And now, with Ford leading the PCs, I can't trust that he'll lose. I thought Trump wouldn't win.

I have to vote with my head.

Everyone: please vote with your head.