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Doorstep Postings: The premier who got elected ‘For the People’ has morphed into ‘Dougie for You’

This is the 2025 Ontario provincial election preview edition of Doorstep Postings, the periodic political commentary column written by Josh Lieblein for The CJN.

If you’re tired of Canadian elections that have Seinfeld‘s show-about-nothing quality, this writ period is definitely for you. In fact, expectations for the month leading up to the Feb. 27 provincial election in Ontario has the distinct air of an episode of Nathan for You, masterminded by Vancouver’s virtuoso of the socially awkward deadpan, Nathan Fielder.

Fielder expands a bit he developed on the CBC as an incompetent millennial business consultant who offers terrible ideas to floundering businesses which fail spectacularly. The genius of the show is that it makes a clear distinction between Nathan Fielder, actor, and the “Nathan” who comes up with the doomed business ideas. We see “Nathan” realize that his actions are causing more harm than good, but any attempts he makes to atone for his mistakes mostly just lead to things getting worse. He did, however, start a legitimately successful jacket business focused on Holocaust awareness where you traded in jackets made by another company that for some reason paid tribute to a genocide denier.

The Fielderesque plan put forth by Doug Ford’s consultants is a rebrand of our bumbling Preem as Captain Canada, the fighting-est First Minister in the Dominion. Looking like a small-town-Ontario granddad in his too-small ‘Canada Is Not For Sale’ baseball cap, the Dougster plans to storm Washington, D.C., under cover of a much more interesting and consequential federal Liberal leadership race to plead Ontario’s case before bemused U.S. lawmakers. Where he goes, the Queen’s Park Press Gallery will not be able to follow—or so Doug hopes.

A few headwinds threaten to snow Ford’s plan under, though First of all, this election will be held in the depths of winter, something that hasn’t happened in 40 years. It’s also an early election, which is something Ontario campaign strategists have been warning against ever since David Peterson tried it back in 1990, and paved the way for Bob Rae. (If you’re starting to get the impression that Ontario is in the state it’s in because our top political minds are still superstitious over things that they lived through decades ago, you’d be right.) When asked if it’s time for a change in government, voters agree with that sentiment by a margin of 3 to 1.

Worse than any of these credulous portents of doom for Ford’s fortunes is the fact that most voters are genuinely sick of the guy in the same way that most bystanders on Nathan for You understand that Nathan doesn’t know what he’s doing and the ideas he presents are deeply stupid. Jewish voters haven’t forgotten that Ford’s government has been mostly talk and no action on security at community buildings and protests crossing the line. You’ve also got issues that matter to you (but not to the government) no matter which community you align with: housing, healthcare, transit, scandals. 

The trouble is that nobody is interested in really challenging Doug and his questionable assertions that he’s listening to Ontarians, much like the businesses that are questionably being “helped” by Nathan. Unions are trying to outdo one another putting together lame attack ads that the cast of This Hour Has 22 Minutes would probably scoff at as being too cheesy and poorly acted. The NDP saw how badly the Liberals got creamed by the voters for obsessively talking about highways during the last election and decided to lead off by talking about nationalizing the 407. The Liberals are standing up for substandard Canadian internet by demanding that Doug cancel a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink in light of his recent Nazi-adjacent salute at Trump’s inauguration. 

Nathan Fielder made the wise decision to end Nathan for You in 2017, after four seasons. But even though we’ve been watching the Ford family circus for decades in Toronto, and the joke has long ceased to be funny, nobody seems to know how to get this show off the air. Ford’s nephew Michael announced that his health wouldn’t allow him to continue with the charade. It was also revealed that proudly anti-Israel MPP Sarah Jama had been lobbying to be let back into the NDP fold after that party’s decision to boot her for comments made in the aftermath of Oct. 7. Why she thought that the party would trust her at this juncture is a question we’ll never get a real answer to. 

As for the Liberals, the most notable Ford-buster they’ve got is Jason Cherniak, the candidate in Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill who’s best known amongst partisans of a certain vintage as the webmaster of Liblogs—a counterpoint to Blogging Tories, who influenced the ascent of the modern Conservative Party of Canada while not having to change out of their pyjamas. Back in the days of Web 1.0, Cherniak managed to convince Official Ottawa to take him seriously as a key online organizer for onetime federal party leader Stephane “Very Seriously, A Carbon Tax” Dion based on a talent for stringing together a few lines of partisan gloss with a low-effort YouTube video or two. (They’d never fall for something like that today!) He’s Nathan Fielder if Nathan had decided to put his energy into shaming B’nai Brith for being too partisan in support of Stephen Harper. 

Ford may believe that he is actually standing up to Trump and fighting, however imperfectly, on behalf of the province he governs. His performance, as wooden as it may be, is a lot more convincing than that of his opponents, who manage to seem even more checked out than he is and repeat the same points about his corporate buddies as last time while not being able to settle on whether he’s a murderclown or just in over his head. There is an honest and heartfelt critique to be made of the man, one that might even make him think twice about the ruse he is perpetuating, but so long as the rest of us are obsessed with norms and their lack if observance, Ford can continue to flout them as he sees fit—all while claiming that, like Nathan Fielder, he is the one and only leader for You.

Josh Lieblein can be reached at joshualieblein@gmail.com for your response to Doorstep Postings.

The post Doorstep Postings: The premier who got elected ‘For the People’ has morphed into ‘Dougie for You’ appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.

Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.

The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.

But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.

Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.

The post Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran

Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect

US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.

Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”

Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”

“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.

Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.

Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.

Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.

Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

The post Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages

Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron

i24 NewsAs Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.

In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.

The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.

“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”

They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.

“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”

The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.

Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.

The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”

In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.

“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”

As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.

The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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