I\u2019m not really one to delve into the nitty gritty of politics because I don\u2019t think the problem is Doug Ford. He\u2019s the inevitable conclusion of cronyism and a divided populace, rent further asunder every day. Like Trump was the inevitable conclusion of the US\u2019s particular brand of us-versus-them. Ford capitalized on empty promises, good-ole-boy quid pro quo, and borrowed authority.<\/p>\n
But he, like Trump, was only able to achieve this because the system lay out a red carpet for him. Despite being a straight, white, rich man, he was able to market himself as the underdog. But lie down with dogs…<\/p>\n
Recently, #MattamyHomes was trending and, being a glutton for punishment, I checked it out. I immediately saw the photo of a woman in a white top being groped by older men, t-shirts with company logos visible, and alcohol fuelling the fire. As this picture went viral, many people decried the lack of masks and social distancing at this little informal get-together. However, I was far from alone in my condemnation of these men for taking advantage of our patriarchal society to further normalize the objectification and consumption of women. Referred to widely as a stripper, the woman in the video did not consent to having photos of her spread like wildfire.<\/p>\n
Imagine for a moment her position: she gets a call to visit a work site. The already male-dominated field also boasts a heavy dose of toxic masculinity. (Not just men, but men with poisonous ideas of what it means to be a man.) For any woman, walking alone into a scene where rowdy male strangers are drinking will put her on high alert. Now imagine your job is to entertain these men, ward off advances that are too aggressive, and try not to breathe in their alcohol-scented exhales because, yes, we are in a pandemic.<\/p>\n
The lack of social distance is alarming, sure. But the exploitation of women is gut-wrenching. That this is so normal, so accepted, is a problem. And when there is a photograph of one instance, it stands to reason that there have been many more such occurrences that were recorded for posterity (or bragging rights).<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t care who was fired or who was hand-slapped. I don\u2019t care about the mealy-mouthed apologies from a company who donated a working-person\u2019s fortune to the PC Party who is handing out MZOs (Minister\u2019s Zoning Orders, basically non-appealable fast-tracked permission to get shovels in the ground for construction companies) like shots at a… well, at a job site.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t care about that because, again, they are symptoms of the diseases that are consuming our world, bite by bite: male supremacy, capitalism, and colonization, to name the forces at play here. They did this because they could, because the groundwork has been laid by forefathers. They will keep doing it until they can\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Of course, reading about this incident led me to look into the construction industry in Ontario and the ties to Ford and his government. A rabbit-hole with bright neon lights pointing down it. Here\u2019s a good primer<\/a><\/span> for how developers and land speculators stand to benefit from the 413 Highway proposal and how they opened their wallets to give more than $750,000 to the PC Party in order to have their interests ‘represented’. Mattamy Homes alone donated $100,000 to Ontario Proud, a third-party political advocacy group that raised money on behalf of the PC Party. The ties aren\u2019t even loose…<\/p>\n For a treat, here\u2019s a catchy tune<\/a><\/span> from local musicians The Smith-Currie Family Band to listen to in the background while you read the previous article, mouth agape.<\/p>\n What else? Well, the Ontario Government recently kneecapped Ontario\u2019s conservation authorities, and then blatantly installed three members of development corporations on the conversation advisory board<\/a><\/span>, including The Remington Group, EQ Homes, and, yep, Mattamy Homes, who all stand to benefit substantially from the eradication of environmental protections.<\/p>\n Doug Ford has determinedly kept the construction companies afloat during this pandemic, repeatedly insisting that they are essential. It does seem that, if you follow the money, they have more than paid for this privilege. Of course, it isn\u2019t the construction workers at these companies who are profiting off this decision\u2014it\u2019s the names on the letterhead that are being financially rewarded for Ford\u2019s inability to put people before profit.<\/p>\n In fact, many of the staff at construction sites around the province are begging to be protected, decrying the lack of sanitation services<\/a><\/span>\u2014they don\u2019t have hot water on site to wash their hands and, horrifically, are reporting overflowing portable toilets. Masks are a blue-moon rarity and social distancing is described as impossible. And yet, Ford has decreed the industry as essential, “including construction projects that support the health care, transit, energy and justice sectors as well as those in the industrial, commercial, institutional and residential sectors.” So… all of it.<\/p>\n Money has a big mouth.<\/p>\n So the long-game player in me is saying this industry isn\u2019t sustainable, that too much money has changed hands and the rabbit hole is too deep. The long-game player wants to see more women on the sites to change the atmosphere because we all know that when certain men get money, women are considered for sale. I want to see more reasonable men saying, “this isn\u2019t okay”, because that\u2019s what it\u2019ll take to make this stop.<\/p>\n But for the here and now? Ontario can\u2019t be open for business. Ford needs to start thinking about the people who make up its population. He can\u2019t keep all his donors happy and also keep us safe. We are in a crisis the likes of which most of us have never experienced. And people who voted for a good-time guy with promises as cheap as the beer he guaranteed are feeling disappointed and betrayed. My hope is that, moving forward, we elect leaders capable of leading, leaders who can rise to unforeseen challenges, leaders who can\u2019t be bought.<\/p>\n You know, when I first saw Ford\u2019s tearful apology, I was hopeful. Maybe he\u2019s discarding the toxic mask, maybe he\u2019s sincerely seen the error of his ways. But like many victims of abuse can attest, those tears came from a crocodile, not a person willing to change. At the end of the day, people are still dying and our leader is out of sight\u2014and we\u2019re out of his mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sign up here<\/u><\/a> to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories. Click here to support local news<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kathleen May (Photo: Kai Rannik)<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Kathleen May is a writer, speaker, and activist. Her column, She Speaks, has appeared in the Huntsville Doppler since 2018. Her work in our community includes co-founding the long-running Huntsville Women\u2019s Group, volunteering with Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services, and her role as a front-line counsellor at the women\u2019s shelter. Kathleen is a 2018 Woman of Distinction for Social Activism and Community Development<\/a><\/span>. She was longlisted for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize<\/a><\/span>, short-listed for the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize<\/a><\/span>, and received the Best Author award for her 2018 submission at the Muskoka Novel Marathon, a fundraiser for literacy services. When she isn\u2019t writing, she\u2019s designing a tiny house which she intends to be the impetus for a sustainable women\u2019s land co-operative in Muskoka.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" #whereisDougFord? If you, like me, spend any time on Twitter, you\u2019ll have seen this hashtag trending before, and now you get to see it again. I\u2019m not really one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":617,"featured_media":97121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n
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