Starting out with baby steps

Doug Ford has hit the ground running and with a few announcements even before being sworn into office, he clearly has demonstrated things will be different.
Gone are the working luncheon caucus meetings with supplied food. Instead, the PC caucus will be expected to “brown bag” it. Or perhaps Mr. Ford will hit the Costco store and bring his barbecue and grill burgers and ‘dogs behind the legislature.
I’m looking forward to seeing MPPs grilling burgers behind the provincial parliament building in January.
The new question at Queen’s Park between MPPs and senior ministry personnel will be: “What’s in your bag today?”
It is a small step, just as his decision that government offices and departments no longer should subscribe to community newspapers, professional journals, periodicals, and other publications either through printed media or through the internet.
Many of the cancellations ordered were for pre-paid subscriptions that still are in effect.
Perhaps the government is trying to circumvent paying the charges for reproduction of articles through theft and redistribution from a small group of publications. Or maybe Mr. Ford does not want his members to stay in contact with constituents through their community papers, nor does he want ministries learning new things from professional periodicals.
He will save a miniscule amount for the budget.
Last Tuesday, the “green” energy home renovation program was chopped. It paid for upgrades to home insulation, heating systems, and thermostats, along with new window replacement.
Windows are supposed to be installed by Aug. 31 and paperwork completed and submitted by Sept. 30. But many window-manufacturing plants now are running to 10 weeks to complete orders.
In the meantime, many homeowners who ordered windows to take advantage of the $500 rebate are left wondering if they still will be eligible. So are the installers.
This comes on top of the announcement that Mr. Ford is going to cancel the cap-and-trade energy system upon being sworn in so that the funding for the “green” energy projects will disappear. Watch to see if gas prices plummet by 10 cents a litre this weekend as promised by Mr. Ford during the election campaign.
Now if Mr. Ford is really serious about saving the common person taxes, maybe he should begin riding to work on his bike from Etobicoke or taking the public transit system that Ontario residents are paying for. It would save on gas and human resources (i.e., the bodyguards and drivers).
He truly would represent the common Toronto resident frustrated at getting to work.
Of course, the brown bag lunch, the barbecue, and cancelling subscriptions all merely are symbols that Mr. Ford is showing that he is working for the common Ontarian. In addition, the government has instituted freezes on all hiring except for frontline workers.
The freeze locally puts the building of the new St. Francis School on hold until a complete review of the provincial finances is complete. Other contracts that are not essential at the moment also are on hold.
We can expect an announcement some time in August that the Ford administration will find the province is in much more financial difficulties than the previous government had made known–and the justification for reduced spending and postponing projects will be validated.