TORONTO – The 2021 Federal Budget came like a godsend for Doug Ford. And not so much for the individual measures contained in Minister Chrystia Freeland’s Budget Law – which in fact have a national character and which do not promise carte blanche at the expense of the Provinces against the pandemic – but for the possibility of alleviating the media pressure to which the premier has been subjected for almost a week now. Over the next few days, the political debate will continue to revolve around the Federal Executive’s Maneuver, moving from an ambitious plan to create a $30 billion national childcare plan to guidelines for long-stay nursing homes, passing through $101 billion in investments and problems related to the budget hole that will accompany us for a long time to come.
Much less will be said about the difficulties that the provincial executive is experiencing, after being able to lead Ontario through the most difficult phase in its history for a year – albeit amid a thousand contradictions, controversies, accusations and poisons. And it has also done so quite well, if we take into account the numbers relating to infections, hospitalizations, intensive care patients and deaths. Then, in recent weeks, critical issues have emerged fueled by the progressive deterioration of the health framework that accompanies us in this very harsh third wave of the pandemic.
In hospitals in all areas of the province the situation has deteriorated rapidly, many trade associations – from nurses to hospitals – have accused the government of immobility, of acting badly and lagging behind the seriousness of the situation. The government’s choices over the past two weeks have also fuelled a climate of confusion and lack of security: open schools, indeed not, police carpet checks and then back-to-back checks, playgrounds for closed children and then the step back. A continuous propose and deny, announce and retract, plan and undo. The icing on the cake came with the government’s never-denied denunciation of the premier’s willingness to close the sessions at Queen’s Park and transfer the work of the provincial parliamentary assembly to the remote.
Not to mention what is becoming a real fiasco, that is, the conduct of the immunization campaign. The provincial government, with Ford in the first place, continues to point the finger at the federal executive, demanding more doses of vaccine.
The truth, as has been documented, is that vaccines are there but are not administered at the proper speed. Until yesterday, for example, according to data from covid19tracker.ca Ontario had received 5,242,495 doses of pfizer, moderna and astrazeneca vaccine from Ottawa. Of these, 3,995,187 were administered, just 90,000 in the last 24 hours.
The stock is therefore more than 1.2 million doses, ready to use but that are not inoculated for obvious logistical and organizational problems.
That said, it makes the request that comes – you hear – from the authoritative Washington Postsmile, where in an editorial signed by David Moscrop strongly calls for the resignation of thepremier. First, one should ask what might push an American nationally run newspaper to take an interest in such a specific issue as the difficulties of the Ontario premier. Secondly, at this stage, what could be the alternative to the Ford executive? A new government supported by the conservative majority itself? Or even early voting? At the moment the best solution seems to be to move forward with the current government, but with the need for a change of gear in the work to combat the pandemic. Perhaps, by starting a constructive dialogue with the opposition at Queen’s Park – and the opening on the request for paid sick days seems to be going in this direction – and getting our hands back on the organizational logistics machine for the distribution of vaccines.