The worst and best and worst of Doug Ford

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The Ontario premier’s tendency to fly by the seat of his pants recently landed his government in a nasty bout of turbulence, a drama that showed the worst of Doug Ford, the best of Doug Ford and the worst of Doug Ford.

He acted impulsively to buy a private plane, then backed down quickly as criticism mounted. But also insisted people thought he’d been doing the right thing in the first place. And then, in a related move, his government last week passed a law that will keep secret the sort of public feedback he said supported the decision to buy the jet.

It’s the kind of self-inflicted wound that third-term governments should know enough to avoid. Because, as scandals go, the trajectory of this one was entirely predictable.

For right or wrong, Ontario voters have been leery for decades about their premiers having a private jet. If the government thought there were good reasons to have a such a plane – and it’s not an impossible case to make – they should have marshalled their arguments.

Mr. Ford could have cited the number of trips he’d made to remote parts of Ontario which can be reached only by plane and stressed his need to be a premier for all residents. He could have tabulated the cost of periodically chartering a jet and compared that to the cost of ownership.

Doug Ford to sell private government jet days after purchase was revealed

He did none of that. Perhaps because the math didn’t help his case, or perhaps because the $29-million jet his government bought could land at only 10 per cent of the province’s airstrips, according to a CBC analysis.

Perhaps he didn’t see the need to explain something that seemed, to his government, so self-evident. According to media reports after the sale, the idea was approved unanimously by his cabinet after being in the works for months. The first the public heard was that the government had already bought the jet.

This public, remember, is the boss. Mr. Ford answers to voters and voters pay the bills for his policies, including his decision to buy that private jet. Springing the purchase on the public after the fact is disrespectful, at best.

It’s true that a $29-million jet is a rounding error in the context of a province expected to spend $244-billion this year. But it’s a jarring symbolism for the premier to fly like a celebrity while average people struggle to fill their gas tank or buy groceries. It’s understandable that Ontarians were irate.

Then the better side of Mr. Ford emerged. Although his government initially defended the purchase, that didn’t last long. In the face of brand-damaging accusations that he had bought a “gravy plane,” Mr. Ford announced after only two days that they would sell it.

“I heard loud and clear from the people that this was not the time to purchase a plane,” he said.

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To his credit, the premier often does react to criticism. Among the major reversals, sustained public pressure caused him to back down on a plan to give developers access to protected land outside Toronto and also to use the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract on teachers, removing their right to strike.

Listening to the public is good practice for politicians. However, it would be better yet if Mr. Ford didn’t blunder into foolish decisions in the first place. And even when he does change course, a certain petulance can be heard.

Last August, Mr. Ford insisted that people “didn’t give two hoots” about the Greenbelt scandal

Within days of promising to sell the jet, the premier was saying that he’d been inundated with phone calls from people telling him he should “keep the damn plane.”

This highlights a dubious aspect of how Mr. Ford operates.

Doug Ford says he reversed course on private jet purchase after hearing public’s concerns

The premier has long handed out his personal phone number. His habit of conducting government business on this phone led him into conflict with the privacy commissioner, who has insisted his use of it be subject to transparency law.

Instead, his government tightened freedom of information laws last Thursday with the explicit goal of protecting the premier’s phone logs – a policy supported by only 24 per cent of Ontarians, according to an Abacus poll.

On the one hand, Mr. Ford tries to justify his decisions by citing the constituent calls he says he is getting. But on the other hand, he is making it impossible for anyone to verify those calls.

Who has Mr. Ford’s ear? The public can no longer know. At least if he flies commercial people might have some chance of overhearing what is going on behind the scenes.