Thanks to his swearing-in, we now know that Doug Ford’s government will be unlike any other in Ontario’s political history.Not just in boldness but boastfulness.Not only in haste but hubris. Not merely in symbolic gestures but shameless self-promotion.Taking the oath as premier sets a tone and conveys an image. First impressions, favourable or not, count for a lot.In Friday’s first official news release, Ford’s Tories anointed themselves as “Ontario’s First Ever Government for the People.”First. Ever.What does that say about the Progressive Conservative governments of Mike Harris and Bill Davis that came before him? Apparently not governments for the people.With Davis, Harris, and other past premiers listening in Friday’s blazing noon sun, Ford hailed his decision to “break with convention” by holding a swearing-in ceremony outdoors — for the people.“Out here with you — out here in the open before all of you, before the people,” he proclaimed to the 1,000 VIPs who made it onto his guest list, and were escorted past a rope line to their reserved seats.Ford’s bizarre boast would have jarred David Peterson’s ears as he listened, given that his Liberal government was, in fact, the first to hold an outdoor ceremony in 1985 after toppling a Tory dynasty. Amusing amnesia, but a hint of historical lapses to come.Reading from his twin teleprompters in front of the legislature’s pink sandstone facade, Ford offered conflicting messages — not only to the invited VIPs, but another 1,000 supporters and opponents kept behind metal barriers 100 metres away. Among the most glaring contradictions of the day from Ford’s script:Ontario’s multiculturalism is a strength. Yet Ontario’s new cabinet is almost all white, with only one visible minority member out of 21 to reflect the province’s diversity.Ontario’s economy will grow. Yet Ontario’s ...
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