On The Ledge - your Ontario politics podcast

This edition of On The Ledge was recorded before Premier Doug Ford was scheduled to make his latest pronouncement on the province's strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19. We know it will be based on a series of layered closed door meetings with no indication of how the premier arrived at his decision. Politics has trumped public health so far. And it's becoming increasingly clear the Ford govern...

Barely three days into a province-wide "lockdown", Ontario Premier Doug Ford decides it's time to issue a province-wide Stay At Home order. It's another sign suggesting the provincial plan to control the pandemic is being driven by guesses. It's a sign that we continue to chase the virus rather than getting out in front of it. Brampton Mayor, Patrick Brown joins us on this edition of On The Ledge....

Five months ago, the On The Ledge crew asked the question: "Who's in control of an out of control pandemic?" That was the thrust of our discussion on November 12, 2020. We knew then we were facing the Second Wave. We knew then we faced out of control case numbers. We knew then that urgent measures were required. We knew then vaccines were on the way. We knew then we needed a comprehensive rollout...

Why is it that an octogenarian who doesn't have a cell phone or a computer can't get a vaccine when he shows up at a clinic without making an appointment?  We are overthinking the vaccine rollout. Now that the LTC residents and front line staffers have been taken care why are we so preoccupied by focussing on age cohorts and limiting access? The vaccine rollout continues to stumble along. The Ford...

Doug Ford's approval ratings are dipping according to the latest numbers from Maru/Blue, but he's still 8 points better than he was when he won a majority at Queen's Park in 2018. Will the "COVID glow" last long enough to get Ford Nation re-elected next spring? Ontario announces plans to sunset 1500 fax machines. Yup. We're still using fax machines. And Keith Leslie is hearing that online re-selle...

There may be a glow of optimism on the horizon; there are more biceps being penetrated by needles; there are more vaccine doses "on the way". But we all have to be careful not to be doing a victory lap. As my dad would say, "Run through the tape". He was a sprinter in the day. You don't run to the finish line. You run through the finish line, through the tape. This week, we dive in on racism accus...

The latest numbers from MaruBlue suggest the Trudeau government is getting a failing grade for it's handling of the COVID vaccine rollout. A majority of Canadians (57%) believe the Trudeau government has done a bad job in delivering vaccines to their province. Similarly, more than half of Ontarians believe the Ford government has done a bad job managing the vaccine rollout. These numbers come on t...

As we were recording this episode, details of Dr. David Williams' testimony before the Long Term Care Commission were released to the media. Among other things, the transcripts indicate Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health said he saw no evidence that some PSWs were working in several homes or whether that could have contributed to outbreaks in phase one. There's also research suggesting case...

In this Back to the Ledge episode of On The Ledge, John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford dive in on the latest COVID-19 developments at Queen's Park, the Ford government's Greenbelt expansion plan (that includes the construction of Highway 413??). We also note that Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath has the distinction of being the longest serving leader of a major political party in...

The accepted wisdom suggests long term care residents and healthcare workers should be at the front of the line when we finally get a COVID-19 vaccine approved. The logic is the elderly and frail are the most vulnerable and our healthcare workers punch the clock day in and day out in a petri dish that cultivates the virus. On the surface, this makes some sense. But, I only wonder whether we're loo...

One month before Christmas 2020 and Ontario's Auditor General dropped a lump of coal in Doug Ford's and David Williams' stockings. Bonnie Lysyk issued a scathing report on the provincial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lysyk says the province was not only ill prepared, it failed to learn important lessons from the SARS crisis in 2003. And the AG said, in no uncertain terms, criticized Dr. Willi...

Every day, the province of Ontario is setting new records for COVID cases, hospitalizations or deaths. The pandemic is raging out of control and the lack of an action plan is obvious. Media questions are met by questions from public health authorities and playback responses from politicians promising to do everything, at all cost to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. Yet, neither mental health...

There are very few places on the planet where the number of COVID-19 cases isn't surging. Ontario is no exception. More than a month after moving the "hot spot" regions of Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa into a modified stage 2, the seven day average of daily cases has nearly doubled. As we mark the 8th month since the pandemic was declared, the question is: Who is in control of controlling COVID-1...

In keeping with the coming holiday season, Ontario's government has adopted a festive colour code to determine which municipalities get to open for business and which ones get coal in their stocking. The Ford government has presented yet another plan to tackle the spread of the coronavirus at time when the province is reporting record increases and a 7 day rolling average of 950 new cases per day....

Another week, another lost opportunity for the Ford government at Queen's Park to present something that resembles a clear plan, let alone a message, on how we'll flatten this latest curve. The province has already moved  restaurants, gyms and theatres in Toronto, Peel, Ottawa and York regions back to a modified version of Stage 2 - insisting the "numbers" indicate that's the best course of action...

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is pushing back on criticism of his government's COVID-19 communications and public health guidance. Ford says "I don't think the guidelines can be any clearer." Really?? In this week's episode of On the Ledge, John Wright, Keith Leslie and Dave Trafford are joined by Melissa Lantsman. Melissa's not only the VP at Enterprise, she was the Tory war room director during the...

Do you get the sense that we are feeling our way in the dark as the second wave of the pandemic comes crashing ashore? It's certainly the feeling the a number of industries have after Queen's Park decided to impose modified stage 2 restrictions on restaurants, gyms, performance centres in the Toronto, Peel and Ottawa regions. A ban on indoor dining, the closure of gyms, the cancellation of already...

The province's management of the COVID testing program has been just shy of a shit show. Reporting this week by the Toronto Star makes it pretty clear the Ontario government wasted its only opportunity to put a robust testing program in place during the summer months. It appears, for all the commitment to "do whatever it takes", the Ford government refused to spend the money to set up a complete t...

Bad News: The second wave of COVID 19 has arrived. Good News: Fewer hospitalizations. Bad News: Ontario is setting new records for daily cases. Good News: Queen's Park has finally stepped up to protect Long Term Care homes. Bad News: 46 LTC homes report outbreaks. Good News: (stand by) Bad News: Hmmm...Seems we've run out of Good News.   You can watch OR listen to this episode on our YouTube Chann...

The Fall Plan is being presented one step at a time. It includes preparations for flu season, COVID testing at select pharmacies and Premier Ford's constant plea to Health Canada to approve saliva tests. But does the plan also include a snap election? John Wright's latest numbers from Maru/Blue suggest Ford's approval rating is starting to dip as his government struggles to get the kids back to cl...

The Ontario legislature is back in business and so is our podcast, On The Ledge. Getting kids back to school this week was akin to building an aircraft in-flight. Class sizes are larger than expected. Teachers are still learning who, what and where they're teaching. And dozens of bus routes have been cancelled because of a driver shortage. John Wright is Executive Vice President of Maru/Blue Publi...

The Ontario Liberal Party handed former Wynne minister Steven Del Duca a first ballot win and new business cards as the Leader of the provincial party. The governing Progressive Conservatives have already released online ads framing Del Duca as a continuation of Kathleen Wynne's politics and policies. Can Del Duca redefine himself? Can he redefine the provincial party? Can he raise the cash needed...

Listen to the declarations coming out of Washington about COVID-19 and it's clear that the Canadian response to the outbreak has been weeks ahead of the curve. Nonetheless, all of our preparedness for this strain of the coronavirus is not enough to inoculate us against the Trump administration's viral confusion and its effects on world markets. President Trump has appointed Vice President as the l...

At the time of this recording, the nationwide rail blockades continue with no end in sight. The prime minister admits there has been no progress in meaningful talks and told a Friday afternoon news conference it's time for the blockades to come down.  What does that mean? There is no plan. There is no deadline. And there is no consequence for demonstrators if the blockades remain in place. Has he...

The Christmas recess has wrapped up at Queen's Park, the legislature is back in session and there are more than a few pots at a rolling boil on the front burner. The labour standoff continues with all of the teachers' unions across the province. Rotating strikes continue and there appears to be no progress in this war of attrition. That strife will take up a good deal of oxygen as the session resu...