Ford fires Tory vet from Metrolinx

Former minister let go from board after criticizing PCs’ ‘internal culture’ following Greenbelt saga

Rattled and embattled, Premier Doug Ford appears to be moving to crush any dissension in the Progressive Conservative ranks over his Greenbelt scandal.

In a salvo aimed at potential dissidents and challengers for his throne, Ford has stripped a former Tory cabinet minister of a provincial appointment after she dared to write a critical column about him.

Janet Ecker, finance minister in Progressive Conservative premier Ernie Eves’ government, was quietly fired from the Metrolinx board on Oct. 12 — a year into a three-year appointment that had taken effect Oct. 27, 2022.

Ecker’s transgression?

A Sept. 26 article she wrote for the Niagara Independent, a news website, headlined “Can Ford and team learn from the Greenbelt saga, come back, and ‘get it done’ for Ontarians?”

The respected veteran Tory — a one-time aide to premier Bill Davis as well as a senior minister in premier Mike Harris’s cabinet when she sat in caucus with Ford’s father, Doug Ford Sr. — expressed concern about the “government’s internal culture.”

“A potentially serious red flag went up with the recent resignation of one of the premier’s most competent ministers, labour minister Monte McNaughton,” she wrote.

“It … brings to mind the departure of another talented political up and comer (last year), former finance and long-term-care minister, Rod Phillips.”

Her citing of McNaughton and Phillips especially rankled Ford’s loyalists.

That’s because both former ministers have been mentioned as possible replacements should the Tories be seeking a new leader if fallout from the Greenbelt fiasco continues. (Others seen as potential successors to Ford are Education Minister Stephen Lecce, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, Deputy Premier and Health Minister Sylvia Jones, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Energy Minister Todd Smith, among others.)

So far, two ministers — Steve Clark and Kaleed Rasheed — and top aides, Ryan Amato and Jae Truesdell, have resigned due to a scandal that’s now under criminal investigation by the RCMP.

“His standings in the polls, while still remarkably strong, have taken a beating. Can he recover? The election is (more than) two years away and in politics, that can be a lifetime. But the key question for the premier is ‘what has he learned?’” she continued.

Ecker declined to comment when contacted by the Star on Monday.

The premier’s office referred inquiries to the Ministry of Transportation, which said the change was part of “a refresh on the Metrolinx board, the provincial transit agency.

“We thank Ms. Ecker for her more than seven years of service on the board. The minister will be announcing a new appointee in the coming weeks,” said a spokesperson for Sarkaria.

But Progressive Conservative insiders confide that Ford wanted to “set an example” by turfing Ecker from the prestigious board.

“It’s a signal to everyone,” said one source, who approved of the move.

“If you want to be on the team, you have to be a team player.”

The Ford ally pointed out a Liberal premier would have done the same thing if a former Grit minister was similarly critical in public.

“You’re a political appointee, so be political,” added the PC insider, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal matters.