Host Gene Valaitis and author Jon Liedtke critique Premier Doug Ford’s 48-hour reversal on purchasing a $30 million private jet. They discuss the damage to Ford’s “everyman” brand, the potential $6–7 million loss in “stupid taxes,” and the need for government transparency versus elite posturing ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Transcript (Gemini Generated):
Gene Valaitis: Okay, the big news back on Friday morning was the fact that Premier Doug Ford—well, he wasn’t purchasing it, he was using our tax dollars to purchase a used private jet at the cost of, well, close to 30 million bucks. And by Sunday morning, Doug Ford said, “You know, I’m hearing all the complaints, we’re going to sell it.” John Liedtke has just written a piece for it from the site Kvetsh and release, and he’s with me here. Good morning, John.
Jon Liedtke: Good morning, Gene.
Gene Valaitis: Well, in your piece, you write that while the gravy train runs on steam, a gravy plane runs on high-octane hypocrisy. You know, Doug Ford really did build his entire political brand, John, being a champion of the little guy, to stop the gravy train, then all of a sudden this jet comes along. Now, not everybody thinks it should be sold. We’ll talk to Brian Lilley after the 10:00 news from The Sun. But fundamentally, how damaging is this for the Premier considering his popularity points have been going down a little bit, but the guy keeps just getting elected?
Jon Liedtke: Well, this should be beyond damaging. This should be brand corroding. Doug Ford didn’t get elected because he was some high-minded policy wonk. He was the guy who drove around in a minivan or a pickup truck with a Tim Hortons cup permanently fused to the console. But when the everyman starts leafing through glossy brochures for $30 million leather-bound sky palaces while constituents are doing grocery store math standing on the aisles or looking at the gas pumps trying to figure out how to pay the bills, that image shatters. You can’t posture as the little guy’s hero while auditioning for the aviation elite. If the gravy train, as I said, runs on steam, in this case, though, the plane is running on the sheer audacity of thinking that Ontarians wouldn’t notice the altitude difference between the kitchen table and the cabin.
Gene Valaitis: The government, or Doug Ford at least, blinked over the weekend within 48 hours of everybody finding out that this jet was purchased. But as you point out in your article, this reversal—it’s not going to be free. It’s going to cost taxpayers some money.
Jon Liedtke: Yeah, if this purchase went through the way that it looks like, this is a stupid tax, Gene, plain and simple. This is probably six or seven million dollars of taxpayer money essentially vaporized to buy their way out of a 48-hour news cycle before Monday morning newspapers hit. This isn’t fiscal conservatism; this is partisan panic. But if the PC party wants to play The Price is Right with public funds and then lose, they should be the ones to cut the check. That money should be coming out of the PC party to reimburse taxpayers because of Premier Ford’s stage fright.
Gene Valaitis: Interesting. You also—now this is a bit of a stretch, but you can explain this one—you also suggest this might have been a calculated move. What do you mean by that?
Jon Liedtke: Well, you know, it’s a little bit of the Queen’s Park bubble here. They have been doing so much to try to shield themselves from transparency; they’ve brought a lot of attention onto themselves as well. And there is an aviation tracker on social media who says, “Look, this plane looks like it was purchased and it was delivered on a certain date,” and he’s done a bunch of back research into the tail numbers. And he says, “I don’t really think that the government’s actually bought this plane. I think that this just might be a story in and of itself to show that they’re walking back from a $30 million purchase to show that they actually saved money, thereby being able to justify the savings to be put towards maybe just renting or leasing a plane or chartering it.” Again, we’re getting into inside baseball with this. But the point of the matter is that we don’t know because the Queen’s Park bubble is being insulated from the public because Doug Ford doesn’t want us to know. That’s why they’re limiting hearings on FOIs and trying to limit his cellphone records. Are we even going to know who’s in an airplane, Gene? Come on.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah, you make a very good point there. Now, here’s the thing though, towards the end of your article, you drop a massive curveball. After tearing the government apart, you actually say, “I’m not actually arguing against the jet.” So, are you pro-jet or anti-jet?
Jon Liedtke: Alex, I’m sorry about the switchboard right now; I know it’s probably lighting up. But let’s be honest, Gene, Ontario is one and a half times the size of Texas; we’re the engine of the Federation. When the Premier has to fly to D.C. to stare down Trump tariffs and fight his economic envoy, he shouldn’t be trying to puddle jump from state to state to get there in case of inclement weather. So, listen, we deserve to have a plane that functions. This is why 24 Sussex, quite frankly, is still a rotting ruin in this country. We like to make spectacles out of things. I’m not against purchasing the jet, using the jet; I’m against the games that have been played. Just come out, own the decision, and move on.
Gene Valaitis: Well, you know, when I first heard about this and we broke it on the Lite Us on the News early edition Friday at 9:05, the only thing I could think about was: isn’t this the same Premier who wants jets to land at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto, which is only a 10-minute drive away from Queen’s Park?
Jon Liedtke: Hmm, yeah, I know, Gene. It’s almost like one might directly have to do with the other. And this is what’s so frustrating for keen political observers as well: you look to what the Premier Ford is doing. There’s not one decision that’s been made that could affect the Toronto skyline in one shape or another that he hasn’t decided to champion, take ownership of, and ram through without public consideration, comment, or consent, quite frankly. And it’s quite frankly the same thing that Donald Trump is doing right now in Washington, D.C. with its skyline. These are two men who quite frankly should have just run for mayor of the respective cities that they love: Ford in Toronto, Trump in Washington, and just keep it at that level of government. But there’s also one other point that I think that has to come into play here, Gene, and that is the factor of the World Cup coming to Toronto in 2026. And I don’t think the Premier wants to look like he’s a provincial cousin sitting at the adult table when we have global power brokers and leaders coming in. He wants to be part of the elite. So yeah, it’s a $30 million “notice me, guys” buy.
Gene Valaitis: You know, here’s the other thing that’s kind of making Toronto a bit of a laughingstock. They were going to have this free fan fest when FIFA was in town for the World Cup. Well, they just announced last week that the free fan fest is now going to cost each person $10.
Jon Liedtke: Oh, well, you know, that’s great. That’s free. But hey, I mean, I guess you couldn’t go giving it for free in what the actual sense of free is considering how much money has already been spent by taxpayers on this endeavor. So maybe we can try to fool ourselves that it’s actually going to recoup some costs even though they’re reaching into our own pockets. Again, yeah, yeah, again.
Gene Valaitis: Well, I had to go into Toronto this weekend.
Jon Liedtke: I’m sorry.
Gene Valaitis: Yeah, so am I. I took Gravol first. You know what? Are they going to repair the Gardiner Expressway? It’s nothing but potholes before FIFA. I mean, the traffic is terrible and it was just a bumpy road. I can’t get over how run-down Toronto is now.
Jon Liedtke: I don’t know, Gene. I mean, is the UP Express still working full steam? It feels like that just got up and going and that was because of what games was that built? It seems like we only have conversations about meaningful infrastructure upgrades in this province when the eyes of the world are actually upon ourselves here. And that’s frustrating.
Gene Valaitis: And the UP was closed on Saturday because they were having technical problems with it. Of course it is! Excellent. All right, I’ve got one minute here because I’ve got to get to the 10:00 news. What’s the ultimate lesson the Ford government needs to take away from this? I guess we could call it the “Big 48-Hour Debacle.”
Jon Liedtke: The lesson, Gene: if you’re going to buy the wings, make sure you have the spine to defend them. And for heaven’s sake, fund the healthcare gaps, the education gaps, the general social gaps that are on the ground before you start decorating the wallpaper on the cabin at 30,000 feet.
Gene Valaitis: Another great story. Thank you, my friend. We’re going to be talking to you tomorrow as well.
Jon Liedtke: Looking forward to it. Thanks, Gene.
Gene Valaitis: All right, there he goes. Author Jon Liedtke. He always has a great angle.
This aired on 610 CKTB
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