Dear Premier Ford,
Now that you have had almost a year to set your shoulder to the wheel your nose to the grindstone and your best foot forward on behalf of the people and have already passed some remarkably destructive legislation, afflicting everything from education to health to the environment, I respectfully suggest that there is a unique piece of legislation you could pass that would actually be “for the people”.
What I suggest would be a simple variation of Ontario’s Consumer’s Protection Act (CPA) which gives us a chance to cancel a contract after a “cooling-off period”.
It would be the Voter’s Protection Act (VPA).
The CPA says (or the Government web says) the contract must be “for a product or service you buy from a door-to-door salesperson.”
Fair enough. Your door-to-door canvassers and your TV ads were by way of being your proxy sales agents, the first coming to our doors and the second being you yourself gate crashing directly onto our living room TVs.
The existing Ontario CPA cooling-off period gives us 10 days to cancel a contract so let’s stay with that in the new VPA. But dear Premier, before you utter a sigh of relief you should know that the CPA actually says we have “until 10 days after the consumer has received the written copy of the agreement”. You never did show us the “agreement”. You never produced your full fledged platform or even explained the costs. You still have not done so. The CPA says “a consumer may cancel a direct agreement within one year after the date of entering into the agreement if the consumer does not receive a copy of the agreement.” That clause in a Voters Protection Act would come in very handy right about now. The voters who bought your “for-the-people” pitch are beginning to realize they bought a pig-in-a-poke.
Respectfully suggested without a hope in hell,
M. Scott
Return To Paradox 
Regretably your opening heading and closing sentence are all to true. The silent majority are all to vulnerable in the face of a committed minority. There appears to be no protection against LIES (even under oath ): and no consequence if used to promote an illegal use of power. I realize that this is primarily a USA disease – but it is contagious. Think SNC, Adm. Norman, the Indigenous Cabinet sisters comes to mind – to say nothing of more vintage scandals.
AND THE PURPLE COW JUMPS OVER THE MOON EVEN IF IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO.
I agree. It is contagious and I haven’t a clue what we do about it. Personally I’m in favour of minority governments that have to co-operate with others if they want to stay in power.
With you again, Munroe.
Democracy really needs some method to recall bad governments.
Dave Valentine
Yes, but how to make a recall effectively clean and swift AND truly democratic. No easy task.