YYZ - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

These days, it’s not often that Doug Ford’s provincial government gets an attaboy in the pages of The Citizen. His approval rating sits just above one in five people and, in addition to all of his scandals, he appears to be laying the groundwork to strip any and all decision-making power from local municipalities and cities - kind of like forced amalgamation by Mike Harris, but way worse. However, I have some flowers to give him this week, if I can make it through writing it.

 

Ford and his government has made good on its promise to direct a good percentage of its advertising to Ontario-based publications and other media outlets. To us, this only makes sense, especially amid the whole “Buy Canadian” movement that has taken hold in the wake of threats from Donald Trump to the south of us. 

 

Of course, we benefit from this decision. You will see, in recent weeks, half- and full-page ads placed by the government for this or that and that is money that goes directly into The Citizen’s coffers, helping to pay news gatherers, professional writers and photographers and others, so the newspaper can continue to do its good work in the community. It also sets an example for the businesses and groups of this province, showing them that, to reach Ontarians, you have to invest in Ontarians. In recent years, we have felt a hearty bounce-back from the days of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s nice to have the support of those investing in us.

 

The second thing I have to thank the government for is somewhat connected to the first, but it has, arguably, affected me in a much more direct and profound way.

 

The choice to feature “Closer to the Heart” by Rush in a commercial that features prominently on T.V. stations (and YouTube) that my children watch has my kids into Rush and this, my friends, is excellent news.

 

The Holy Triumvirate is a band that I took my time in coming to, but, now that I have, I see all that I’ve been missing for years. Now, they are on the short list of artists we can rotate through at the house who aren’t explicitly children’s artists. (There’s nothing inherently wrong with children’s artists - we listen to a lot of the classics, like Raffi and others - but so many of them these days feel lazily thrown together and very computer-heavy, rather than a person or some people making music live and in person for children.)

 

So, being able to introduce the kids to “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight” and “The Spirit of Radio”, in addition to their beloved “Closer to the Heart” has been a nice development in the Loughlin house.

 

Thanks to Doug Ford and his government for doing that for us. Furthermore, it’s nice to see a band that made its home in the province be used for such an important job. Keeping those dollars local has a new meaning now, so staying true to that, even down to the music, is nice to see and hear as well.

 

Amid all of the shouts of “fake news” when polling figures are released, doctored photos (allegedly) from events, takeovers of local conservation authorities and school boards, the hint of further structural changes to our local levels of government, the extreme measures being taken to keep the actions of Ford and his members away from the public, the erosion of Freedom of Information abilities, scandals at the Ontario Science Centre, Ontario Place, the Billy Bishop Airport, the Greenbelt and more, we must be effusive in our praise of the provincial government for its use of Rush in advertising. We own them that much.