Next steps

This morning, we celebrated a victory. We hoped, briefly, Doug Ford would respect this city, respect the law and constitution, and let the election, already seriously, disrupted, go ahead. By this afternoon, we learned to our distress he was willing to try to break a long and honourable Ontario tradition of respecting the constitution and the principle of judicial review, in order to enforce his will.
We can hold the Members of the Legislature who support this shocking move accountable, and we should certainly do so. If enough people, particularly conservatives in conservative ridings, come to see Doug Ford has gone too far, then the invocation of the notwithstanding clause will fail.

When the legislature returns Wednesday, if the members don't behave like the "trained seals" Pierre Trudeau derisively referred to federal Members of parliament as, then the attempt to amputate Toronto City Council  and short circuit judicial review will fail. We must, however, prepare for the worst. Doug Ford may succeed in his goal. The Ontario Progressive Conservatives may indeed have sold their collective soul to "Ford Nation", and their MPs may well back whatever he does.

In that case, what I said in a previous post applies with even more force. We must not fall into disarray. We must discourage every attempt to split the progressive vote. We have a better argument against the councilors and candidates who supported the reduction of council: they have now implicated themselves in a direct violation of the rights of every person in this city. I have to believe we can hand Doug Ford and his allies a solid rebuke at the hands of the voters of this city, a rebuke he can only undo by committing absolute violence against the democratic process.

I sympathize with those who would rather organize and win in the streets, with protest and a general strike. However, those methods only work with enough people willing to take serious risks. Doug Ford and his cabinet have already made it clear they see no distinction between their impulses and the will of this province's people. They will not back down over a simple "day of action". To win in the streets, an energized public would have to withdraw the labour that makes this city work for days or even weeks. Unless we have a realistic hope of achieving that, I ask everyone concerned to please make sure we have enough energy and organization to hand Doug Ford and his allies a solid loss in the polls come October.