Election blame game
How did Doug Ford win? Enzo DiMatteo blames Andrea Horwath for Doug Ford’s majority (NOW, June 14-20), citing the NDP surge and Horwath’s reluctance to discuss minority government scenarios. The electorate was not in a forgiving mood. While suggestions that the Liberals could play a role in the next government might have pleased some downtown voters, it would have enraged the rest of the province, including a lot of NDP-PC swing voters.
More important, DiMatteo makes no mention whatsoever of the Ontario Liberals’ cynical decision to spend their final weeks attacking the labour movement and, in almost every incumbent riding, using past election results to claim they were best positioned to defeat the PCs. This last-minute strategy most certainly dented Horwath’s momentum.
Jordan Berger, Toronto
Did downtowners screw up election?
Congratulations on Enzo DiMatteo’s article Crunch Time (NOW, June 7-13). It caused the “something for nothing” crowd in downtown Toronto to vote NDP. Now this area has no political voice at Queen’s Park for the next four years. They might as well have thrown their voter cards off their balconies for all the good their vote has done them. Anyone could foresee that Doug Ford would win. Under those circumstances, voting NDP was irresponsible.
Jim Snow, Toronto
An NDP “triumph” it was not
Total pie-in-the-sky piece by Susan G. Cole on the Ontario election (NOW Online, June 8). The universe unfolded perfectly for the NDP, yet they couldn’t take advantage of a hated Liberal government and a divisive, untested PC leader? If Andrea Howarth can’t do better than a distant second under those circumstances, she needs to be tossed as leader.
Yes, the Liberal seat count was decimated, but they still garnered close to 20 per cent of the popular vote. With time and a more palatable leader, breaking 30 per cent is very realistic since the Liberals haven’t been below that figure prior to this election since 1971.
Alan T. Bundy, From nowtoronto.com
Kathleen Wynne’s big mistake
Regarding Peter Graefe’s article Doug Ford’s New Order (NOW, June 14-20). Kathleen Wynne made an irresponsible promise during the 2014 election campaign to balance the province’s books by 2017-2018. To pay for this promise she sold a majority stake in Hydro One. There is one promise I would like all politicians to keep: don’t make promises.
Randall Jeffrey Pancer, Toronto
TTC responds to drug testing criticism
I am responding to Ian Carey’s article Pot Testing Problem At The TTC (NOW, June 7-13)
The TTC uses the most advanced oral-fluid technology available for its random drug-testing program. The TTC tests for THC levels at 10ng. This cut-off level has been arrived at through the advice of experts in the field of drug testing. A critical element of the TTC’s fitness-for-duty policy around random testing is ensuring that the TTC captures only likely impairment at work.
But fundamental to why the TTC implemented random testing: public and worker safety. The TTC, having seen a rise in the number of post-incident positive test results, had an obligation to act. Random testing also has the added benefit of acting as a deterrent. Positive results have gone from over 3 per cent in May of 2017 to about 1.5 per cent today.
Brad Ross, Corporate and Customer Communications, Toronto Transit Commission
AGO gets it wrong on Emily Carr
Regarding the AGO’s move to change the name of Emily Carr’s painting (NOW, June 7-13). I imagine Emily Carr would agree with the AGO name change, if she were alive. But she’s not. She named it Indian Church, and it’s her painting. Nobody has the right to change the name.
It’s unlikely she meant disrespect – look at her paintings. These are works of art, and you don’t tamper with works of art, no matter how sound you think your reasons.
Artists have the last say about their work. It’s called art, and it’s called history. No tampering allowed. This AGO decision is absolutely wrong.
Robin Hannah, Toronto
