Shame on us. Shame.
We consider ourselves superior to our neighbours because we did not elect the madman to the south, but we are no better. We have our own Trump Lite here in Ontario, and he just “cruised” to his third straight majority government. He has decimated the school system and the health care system, choosing instead to fund expensive projects that put money in the hands of his cronies. He says that he will defend Ontario from the threat of tariffs, but the reality is that not too long ago he was extolling the virtues of the man he now claims to be a danger to us. He takes from the poor to give to the rich, and the poor and rich alike have chimed in, saying, “Give us more Doug Ford!”
I don’t understand it. I don’t understand how we came to be a heartless people, more concerned about lining pocketbooks than promoting social justice and looking after the most vulnerable among us. I don’t understand why the polls weren’t humming with activity today. I don’t understand it, and I fear for the future.
I can only hope that Canadians as a whole will have more sense when the federal election looms and we have a similar choice to make. Because “Canada First” should not mean “Justice Last.” It should not mean that we throw our lot in with our own brand of buffoon.
I can’t provide a nuanced commentary on the reasons for today’s election results, but I can tell you how I feel. I am embarrassed. I am discouraged. And I am very, very worried. We are not immune to the collective madness we denounce across the border. The same misguided thinking that exists there dominates the political scene here as well, and there will be a price to pay. It will be paid in our schools and emergency rooms, by our cyclists and our homeless and our minimum wage workers. The people with the most power won’t feel a thing – in fact, they stand to gain – but the people we ought to care about the most – the sick, the children, the elderly, the disadvantaged – these people will suffer. And we did it. We did it.
Shame on us.
Hi Natasha. This is great. Good on you. Best wishes.
Colin
thanks so much for this, Natasha. I feel all of this, too. And as I posted last night, the misogynistic structures that suggest that a bully is the only possible choice to take on a bully, when anybody who looks understands that there’s not a great deal of difference between our re-elected premier and the American president. I will say that in my community, the polls were rocking. People who worked the polls noticed how many students showed up – with the information they needed to advocate for their right to vote. And still…..
As sad as this is, it’s sadder that the people who are most affected by a bad government, are also the people who won’t get out and vote.