Doug Ford readies for war with Mark Carney...

They aren't at war yet, but Doug Ford is putting Mark Carney on notice. Plus, Fauci pleads the 5th on what colour of tie he was wearing.

Last Friday, Mark Carney pulled the rug out from under Doug Ford, now Carney is learning that there may be consequences for that action. It was on Friday that Carney’s government said they would not support the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport on Toronto’s waterfront “at this stage.”

Well, now we know that Ford, who has been accused of being in a “bromance” with his buddy Carney, isn’t going to roll over and take it.

Ford’s minister of transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria, was criticizing the Carney government for not building Canada strong. There were also 11 PC MPPs who released a statement on Carney’s precious Alto high speed rail project.

“Investments that strengthen Ontario’s economy, improve transportation, and create jobs need to reflect the priorities and needs of rural communities, farmers, families, and local businesses. Public confidence in major infrastructure projects depends on meaningful consultation. In the case of ALTO, too many questions remain unanswered. Too many voices have been ignored.

If ALTO is to proceed, local voices impacted by this project deserve to see their feedback reflected in the project’s planning, route selection and delivery. The federal government must ensure that any potential future rail project minimizes impacts on farmland and is supported by the people affected. We will continue to stand with our municipalities, farmers, landowners, and residents.”

Here is the list of MPPs who signed onto that statement: Steve Clark, John Jordan, Tyler Allsopp, George Darouze, Billy Denault, Nolan Quinn, David Piccini, Laurie Scott, Stephane Sarrazin, Ric Bresee and Dave Smith.

So, as I said in my column, no Billy Bishop, no Alto. Give the column a read.

On the advice of my counsel…

The appearance by Anthony Fauci, the former top doctor in the United States during the COVID 19 pandemic was always going to be a circus. That didn’t mean it wasn’t worth calling him to testify after his diaries revealed that he was obsessed with fame, dismissed alternative views out of hand and believed the lab leak theory before working hard to punish those who raised it.

We knew that Republicans would ask him tough questions and Democrats would try and protect him. What I didn’t expect was how crazy the appearance was.

Democrats just refused to ask Fauci questions and instead used their time to praise him and the “great work” that he did during the pandemic. And yes, Republicans asked tough questions but Fauci just pled the 5th.

Now, while I was expecting that at the beginning, I wasn’t expecting Fauci to take it as far as he did when Missouri Senator Josh Hawley started asking basic questions.

What day of the week is it?

What colour is your tie?

Fauci wouldn’t answer.

Carney on provinces and immigration…

Quebec has long had a big say on immigration to their province. Other provinces not so much.

A hat tip to Juno News for this video of Mark Carney being asked about provinces getting a bigger say in immigration. I’m sure Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was happy to hear his answer.

Chris Who is running for mayor of Toronto…

On Wednesday, former Harper cabinet minister Chris Alexander registered to run to be the next mayor of Toronto. The race had been shaping up as a race between the NDP favourite and incumbent Olivia Chow and Brad Bradford, a city councillor who has been shaping a coalition of Liberals and Conservatives in the city.

Alexander could upend that, if people figure out who he is.

That’s not a slight against Alexander but in politics, and especially municipal politics, name recognition matters. I wrote about this in my column for the Toronto Sun on Wednesday.

Then I spent the day trying to find out more about Alexander’s campaign and chasing claims about who is behind it. I’ll have more to say on that Thursday, and I think it is going to surprise an awful lot of people who jumped to conclusions.

As I was saying…

Yesterday, I brought you the video of Elon Musk pushing back on The Economist claiming he supports racist parties and racist politics.

Here is my video take on this.