Braid: What Was Doug Ford Thinking?

Manotick Messenger Letter to the Editor

The Editor,

What was Doug Ford thinking when he removed Carleton MPP Goldie Ghamari from the PC caucus for allegedly being Islamophobic? We’ve all heard the story of how she committed the (apparently) unforgivable sin of having had a ten-minute phone conversation with an individual named Tommy Robinson—a person invariably described by the CBC as a “far right activist”, whose views are allegedly so reprehensible that they can’t even be discussed. If you want proof of how bad this guy is, just watch the video of him being arrested in Calgary. You’ll see the police putting Robinson in handcuffs and throwing him into the back of a police van. Clearly he’s perceived to be a despicable person, although, in fairness to Ghamari, all of this happened after she had spoken to him. Her assertion that she didn’t know his background seems entirely plausible, although apparently Doug didn’t believe her. The Ottawa Citizen’s Charlie Senack described her treatment this way, “Ghamari is not racist or Islamophobic; her concerns about the fundamentalist regime in Iran come from lived experience. She apologized for the error of meeting Robinson and I take her at her word. Some mistakes need harsh consequences; others, like this, deserve a slap on the wrist.”

Charlie Senack is not the only person to question Ford’s perception of Ghamari as islamophobic. Last November, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs posted the following on X. “Ms. Ghamari has demonstrated leadership in denouncing the horrific surge in #Antisemitism, Islamophobia & hatred on the streets of #Canada since #October7.“  Sadly, it seems Doug Ford was unmoved by the opinion of CIJA and opted to throw Ghamari under the bus. Actually, it was Tommy Robinson himself who raised an interesting point in describing Ford’s actions when he said, “whilst the Islamic republic of Iran controls Iranian women’s speech and freedom, Premier Doug Ford does the same in Canada on behalf of the Muslim brotherhood.”

The most bizarre aspect of this entire affair is what happened to Tommy Robinson. We all saw him being arrested in Calgary, but the MSM largely ignored what happened next. It seems that Canada Border Services concluded that there was actually no case to be made against Robinson, so they returned his passport and let him continue his speaking tour. So that’s where we are right now. The Woke, free-speech-hating, lefty Liberal Trudeau government has allowed Tommy Robinson to continue his speaking tour, while the free-speech-defending, cancel-culture-opposing, staunchly conservative government of Doug Ford considers it a firing offence for one of his MPPs to even talk to the guy.

The sheer irony is mind-boggling.

Andy Braid