Many seem to want Premier Doug Ford to apologize for the mean things he said about Liberal MPP Stephanie Smyth at Queen's Park on Thursday. Most observers expect he will probably buckle under the pressure to do so, since he often reverses course.
But one question that could be asked to well-respected former journalist Smyth is: 'If you are going to dish it out, should you not be expected to take it?' There are two sides to this story.
What Ford Said
Here's what Ford said during question period in response to the St. Paul's MPP not just asking him a question but also mocking him by moving her arms like an airplane to, perhaps, highlight the corporate jet fiasco. This gesture would not be picked up in the written Hansard record but likely would have been noticed by the premier directly across from her. It seemed to tick Ford off.
"You know something, Madam Speaker. You know why the member is down here? Because CP24 didn't want her anymore. Bottom Line. Simple. That's why she is down here. She was just a promoter for the Liberal agenda, NDP agenda when she was doing interviews. You think there could be anything else? That is the fact. That is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it? It hurts when you aren't wanted."
Ouch. But while perhaps it was a bad take, was it really that much of a low blow?
Smyth's Reaction
Smyth, who it has been reported did leave CP24 in a company restructuring, seemed offended. "You shouldn't talk to anybody that way," she told reporters afterwards. "There's a standard of decorum, of how you act. When we get in (the chamber) and we talk about issues and we ask questions, you don't go personal, right? That's not the place. You be parliamentary. You be classy. And that's not what is happening here with this premier at all."
Is this a case of boo hoo? As in a member who has spent weeks ridiculing Ford whining that 'the premier said something mean to me?' Certainly, the media went with that narrative: Nasty Doug and victim Smyth.
What Else Smyth Said
But what they didn't report were other things Smyth said both Thursday and in recent weeks that the premier could take as getting pretty personal as well. "It shows a pattern of crash and burn," Smyth told reporters in the scrum outside the chamber right after this interaction. "Or the cheese is slipping off the cracker." While she appears to be using a phrase Ford has often used, Smyth, however, added, "This is one more step in showing that something isn't right with him."
That's pretty mean. Below the belt, inappropriate and personal too. Mocking any person's cerebral acuity could be considered below any standard of decorum – if the rules of fair play are administered fairly and there is an even playing field.
A Two-Way Street
At first blush, it certainly would be understandable, and even appropriate, that after cooling down from the heat of the moment, Ford just say he's sorry to the St. Paul's MPP who is well known for her decades on radio and television as a top news announcer and anchor and is well liked. He was wrong in that Smyth is at Queen's Park because her constituents elected her to be there and she's only doing her job as an opposition critic by asking questions about what is on his government cellphone or how changes to Freedom of Information requests could keep the public from knowing what they are entitled to know.
But while the premier would be wise to respect Smyth as a legitimate and formidable political adversary who herself could potentially be premier one day, she can be expected to develop some thicker skin and not belittle or demean a fellow elected member personally with hurtful innuendo. It's got to be a two-way street. If Smyth is owed an apology, so is Ford.
The unfortunate words Ford said about Smyth seemed very benign compared to what she said about the normally out-of-bound area of talking about someone's health and fitness. So, is this a slam dunk for the premier to apologize, as the premier known for backtracking and flip flopping often does? Perhaps. Look closer, however, and Stephanie Smyth may owe the premier an apology herself.
