HUNTER: Ford death penalty GOTCHA falls flat with hoi polloi
Support for capital punishment in Canada has remained stubbornly high
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It was supposed to be a GOTCHA! to warm the woke hearts of the Annex and the faculty lounge.
Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford told the London Police Service gala on Jan. 29 that when it came to home invaders: “I’d send ‘em right to sparky.”
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HUNTER: Ford death penalty GOTCHA falls flat with hoi polloi Back to video
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It was a wink and a nod to the death penalty.
Well.
The Toronto Star obtained a tape of the premier’s remarks … and waited for plaudits in the comment section and on Twitter.
Instead, the newspaper was roasted for a nothing burger story with about 95% of commentators agreeing the night train to Nowheresville might not be such a bad idea.
One wrote: “Hell yes! In fact, I offer my services to flip the switch, inject the cocktail, tie the noose. Whatever it takes.”
Another added: “Ah, Doug Ford channelling his inner tough guy. While the left might clutch their pearls over this, let’s be honest: There’s a serious discussion to be had about accountability and consequences. The justice system is a joke if it can’t deter crime.”
A Ford flack later told reporters that the premier is against the death penalty and it had been a “poor-taste joke out of frustration for the many people affected by violent criminals out on our streets because of the federal government’s broken bail system and soft-on-crime policies.”
And that’s why we’re here.
Over the past decade, our streets have become shooting galleries with a spiking homicide rate, an out-of-touch Supreme Court of Canada and a revolving-door bail and justice system.
The most recent data from April 2024 revealed that 57% of Canadians were in favour of bringing back the death penalty for first-degree murder.
In 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada extended a friendly hand to some of the most violent monsters under the Canadian flag when the justices ruled sentence stacking unconstitutional. You can toss in the old “cruel and unusual punishment” piece for good measure.
Effectively, multiple killers got freebies. So if you murder 10, you get the same punishment as if you killed one.
Such princes among men like Dellen Millard, Bruce McArthur, Quebec City mosque killer Alexandre Bissonnette, and Moncton Mountie killer Justin Bourque can rest assured that the Supreme Court has their backs.
Of course, Chief Justice Richard Wagner went on a PR tour moaning that the hoi polloi were being mean to the Supremes. We. Just. Don’t. Understand.
And this is why support for capital punishment in Canada has remained stubbornly high.
Ford, other premiers and the country’s mayors have practically begged the Liberal government to amend the Criminal Code by implementing changes that will tighten bail rules.
“The premier does not support capital punishment but rather firmly believes more needs to be done to keep violent and repeat offenders behind bars where they belong,” his flack added.
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Wildly misreading the public mood when it comes to crime, Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie scolded that Ford’s comments were “beyond disturbing.” Crombie slammed the premier as being “just like Trump.”
I’m against the death penalty for the same reasons cited by my Sun colleague and friend Brian Lilley: The government screws up everything. Can they be trusted to get life and death right?
If the past decade is any indication, I’d venture to guess they would screw it up.
While I may not be a death penalty supporter, I have no difficulty understanding the feelings of those who do.
After all, the real world is not one big liberal arts college campus.
@HunterTOSun
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