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2 Friday, April 9, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson I didn't want to go there It is with profound sadness that I admit I am about to fail at avoiding two topics. First is Ontario's convoluted dog's breakfast of an approach to Covid. Rather than negotiate my own way through that miasma, I instead refer you to two columnists. They tackled the subject with aplomb, if one can do that to such a deadly thing as a pandemic. Basically, each ripped Mister Ford not just one, but a few ones. Ottawa freelance columnist Randall Denley sculpted one of those bang-on columns, the kind that make you nod and mutter, "Yeah, exactly." Published in the National Post, it was entitled, "Ford's latest lazy lockdown plan shows he hasn't learned from the last ones." "Who knows?" Denley concluded. "If you try the same thing often enough, it might eventually work." The Toronto Star's Ed Tubb made further mincemeat of Ontario's response in a 267-word "timeline," employing drippingly pointed sarcasm. An excerpt: "There was Stage 1, 2 and 3. Then 'modified stage 2.' After that: a colour-coded framework. Then a new version. Grey was worse than red…" Which brings me to the second item: the highway 412/418 toll roads. In the midst of the latest lockdown and vaccination merry- go-round, I didn't want to pile on the misery with more about the toll roads. Until Mayor Don Mitchell was quoted elsewhere that it's a matter of fairness: Tolls in the east but not in the west. Perhaps. However, my question is, why any at all? In 2019, Whitby MPP Lorne Coe, the PC party Whip, stated, "The minister of transportation is undertaking a study to review both the economic impact of current toll levels in the surrounding area and the impact of reducing or removing the tolls." Undertaking - Review - Impact... Blah Blah. Do you hear the deafening silence? Where is that study? No amount of wailing, denouncing, or clamoring has resulted in a smidgen of progress. The tolls remain on barely used roads while alternative routes bear the burden. Here's another radical thought we could call goodwill. What would have been constituents' reactions if the PCs had announced a moratorium on all 412/418 tolls during the pandemic? Elected politicians are good at getting elected. In that sense, every person in the Ontario legislature is a winner. The same goes for local council and in Ottawa. None earned their jobs without walking a lot during campaigns, making appearances, and talking ideas. They may even mean well. However, there is no vetting that could produce rational and forward-thinking candidates who, once elected, would go out of their way to address constituents' needs. Maybe the problem is as simple as this: the Ontario government really doesn't care about Durham Region. It's an outpost, an afterthought, an area where you can grab a few seats, since the PCs have four of the region's five. Only the NDP's Jennifer French in Oshawa prevented a sweep in 2018. You just can't make people care. Back to Mayor Mitchell. Fairness indeed. So, while I feel a bit guilty about going there, it's done. The next election is in 18 months. Consider reminders to be a given. 412/418 UPDATE Still Toll Highways