Does owning Deco Labels put Doug Ford in a sticky situation?
Is Ontario Premier Doug Ford in a conflict-of-interest position?
After all, consider the company he owns, Deco Labels, which has plants in both Toronto and Chicago. Deco Labels manufactures various signage, stickers and decals — you know, the type that retailers must use these days to inform their customers of COVID-19 protocols in their shops. (Like those little vinyl arrows on the floor directing people to walk single file in specific directions, because the Wuhan virus absolutely abhors two-way pedestrian traffic and will infect persons disobeying those one-way floor arrows…)
In any event, we imagine that business is surely booming for Premier Ford these days. And if that is indeed the case, the question arises: why would the premier want to rush the province out of various levels of lockdowns? After all, doing so would NOT be good for business... well, HIS Deco Labels business, that is.
We reached out to Ivana Yelich, the premier’s director of media relations, for comment. In what is increasingly becoming par for the course, our request for a callback was not returned.
So, in our search for answers, we took a trip to the west end Toronto headquarters of Deco Labels, a business that resembles a bunker in shutdown mode these days. We observed a tattered paper sign taped to the door (um, isn’t this a company that specializes in professional signage? How cheap can you get!). The makeshift sign informed visitors to call reception. We did so, and a very rude man told us to leave the premises immediately or face a trespassing charge. Needless to say, he did not answer our questions regarding the Premier’s potential conflict-of-interest, nor did employees leaving the plant have much to say.
But the encounter made us ponder, what the heck became of Doug Ford in just a few short years? Remember his 2018 election campaign slogans? Such as, “For the people” — the same people he now calls “yahoos” and has arrested for protesting?
And how about, “Ontario: Open for business”? (Perhaps the Premier meant to say, “My business.”)
Oh, Dougie, to quote the late great Fred Willard: “Wha happened…?”
Toronto's decolonization manager, key in Dundas Square renaming, no longer works for city
By Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
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