Let’s confront Ford on the ethics of Greenbelt backroom deal
In the past, either the report from the Auditor General or Ethics Commissioner would have brought the government down. Dalton McGinty stepped down over moving a gas plant and costing the province millions, in order to win an election. Why not Ford? He’s selling off valuable provincial assets in a highly suspicious manner.
It is pretty clear that Premier Ford was personally involved with the selection of lands that were swapped out. There were notes from him passed to Steven Clark’s office. Yet Ford is refusing to reverse the improper actions: forget about stepping down.
So how do we, as citizens, push him to step up? We can do 3 things:
We need to push for a full public inquiry. Evidence matters. This is really the court of public opinion so it relies on Ford maintaining support of his caucus. Mike Schreiner is pushing for this.
The Conservative caucus could find its ethical back-bone. There are 124 seats in the Ontario legislature, and the conservatives hold 81 of them. If 20 backbenchers stood up and insisted Ford resign, he would have to, or face an election. Is there ANY action they can’t support?
The RCMP has been asked to consider a criminal investigation, and they are rightly taking great care in making their decision. If there is evidence that fraud has was committed, that results in 2 years plus prison, and Ford will be removed.
Sound drastic? Well, this is serious.