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October 24, 2024
Recently, I was sitting in a reception area waiting to be called in for an appointment. Also waiting was a mother of two young children who were obviously tired and frustrated being in line for so long for their turn. The boys were arguing and irritating one another. The mother clearly was no novice and knew how to handle the situation with ease. She called upon her Parenting 101 training and utilized her skills in the art of distraction. It worked like a charm. Both boys played contentedly with something she brought out of her bag that she knew would capture their interest. There was no yelling or threats, and ten minutes later, they got up nicely and went off to their appointment.
Kudos to that mom. She used her magic skills for everyone's benefit. The boys, waiting patients, the reception staff, and even the doctor benefited from her thinking ahead. She used the powers of distraction for good. Everyone came out as winners as a result.
However, sometimes the art of distraction can be used for, shall we say, self-serving purposes. And as much as I hate to say it, many politicians have a natural affinity for using their redirection skills for such purposes. Saying this brings Doug Ford as a prime example.
To me, if a business owner's products or craft are of good quality and correctly applied, would they want to avoid the scrutiny of their customers? Logic says no. So, for a politician, resorting to the art of distraction says a lot about their success and skills, or lack thereof.
Ontarians have watched Premier Ford take the stage, leading our province for most of the two terms. He has afforded us many opportunities to witness his skill at exhibiting his expertise in what magicians call misdirection. While I can say Mr. Ford uses the tactic a lot, I'd hesitate to qualify him as an expert at the art because, frankly, what he is doing and why is incredibly obvious. To say the least, he's no David Copperfield.
Some readers may ask what the Premier would want to distract us from seeing. Bear in mind that the Premier Ford has coyly kicked into pre-election mode. The government has been posting media releases and program announcments like they're going out of style. Not only do they post multiple releases every day, some of them are merely re-announcements. As to what the Ford government would want to keep your attention away from, just think of all the unfulfilled campaign promises. Does the 2018 Buck-a Beer promise ring any bells? Boy, that one went flatter than a day-old draft. He couldn't even beg brewers to help out on that promise.
Better yet, how about the Conservative's failure to eradicate hallway medicine from our hospitals? And for good measure, hospital emergency department wait times are skyrocketing under Doug Ford's watch.
Consider for a moment how desperately short Ontario is of qualified teachers (special-ed teachers in particular) after deciding that all kids belong in regular classrooms, no matter students' exceptionalities. On top of this, there are not enough teaching assistants to provide the necessary support. As a result, exceptional students, regular students and teaching staff all end up on the short end of the stick.
So is it any wonder why Premier Ford's most called-upon tactic is the art of distraction?
One of the last things Premier Ford wants to let Ontarians focus on is the Conservative's handling of Ontario's doctor and nurse shortage. Not a week goes by that my office does not get a call from an irate, or even worse, scared constituent who needs to be on a family physician's roster, some languishing for years with no end. For added oomph, consider how the Group Health Centre in the Sault was forced to orphan 10,000 patients in one fell swoop. Talk about dropping the ball at a critical moment.
The most egregious and embarrassing topic the Tories can't seem to put behind them is the Greenbelt scandal. Not only did two separate government watchdog offices investigate and scaldingly criticize multiple improprieties of the government over the handling of this housing development initiative, but the RCMP continue to investigate the matter and still has a long way to go to get to the bottom of the abyss.
You don't have to search hard to find many examples of the Ford government's attempts to redirect voters' focus. Just think of all the headlines we read this summer.
Think of the hoopla when Ontario made beer, wine and premixed beverages available in convenience stores, even licensing to consume in the stores. The Premier successfully fixed an access problem that Ontarians didn't know they suffered from. Doug Ford handed over a whopping $225 million of taxpayers' money to the multinational owners of the Beer Store for cancelling their contract one year early. And truth be told, financial experts say that the final price tag will be hundreds of millions more, but the Finance Minister admits he has no idea how much it will ultimately cost.
Another misdirection currently underway is the Conservatives tabled legislation to veto any municipality's plans to build bike lanes, which improve safety and reduce greenhouse gasses. In fact, the province is considering giving itself the power to order the removal of existing municipal bike lanes if it believes it is slowing traffic down. Why is the Premier wasting time on seemingly minor municipal problems when he can't even resolve his high-priority healthcare, long-term care, education and housing issues? So, he turns to his stand-by distraction tactics rather than solving the problems.
The distraction that wins the award for most fanfare is Doug Ford's determination to resolve all of Ontario's transportation infrastructure issues. First, Premier Ford approved the building of Hwy 413, and then, for good measure, he fast-tracked it, authorizing work to be done 24/7. Then he promised the developers a new spa at Ontario Place that the province would build an underground parking garage at taxpayers' expense. And to sweeten the deal, if the garage is not built in time for the spa opening, the Premier agrees that the Province will pay a penalty to the developers for all the incomplete parking spaces annually until the project is completed.
Finally, just in case all of the other announcements fail to distract the Ontarians from existing matters on their minds, Premier Ford pulled out the ultimate redirection that no human could resist falling for. He announced what can only be described as a fantastical mega-transportation project. He gave his word that the Ontario government will solve Hwy 401's traffic congestion problems by building a 60 km long tunnel under the express route. This firm commitment was validated yesterday by Transportation Minister Sakaria. But, when asked if the government had undertaken a feasibility study or costed the project, Mr. Ford didn't even blink. To him, those must be minor details someone can figure out later.
That mom got it right: using the art of distraction on her sons for the benefit of all. She wasn't hiding anything, just moving things in the right direction. No one suffered any loss or penalty - just winners all around. Premier Ford's behaviour, on the other hand, stems from blatant self-serving interests designed to promote a political agenda while padding the pockets of influencers and elitist supporters along the way. However, unlike the mom's redirection, Doug Ford's misdirection means real people will suffer loss, hardship, and pain. The voters of Ontario get to let the Premier know what they think of his magic show on the next election day.
As always, I invite you to contact my office about these issues or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ola.org or call Toll-free 1-800-831-1899.
Michael Mantha, MPP
Algoma-Manitoulin
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