1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser

Oh Really?

Toronto Politician Tells Margaret Atwood to Run for Office or Shut Up

by Jamie Frevele | 12:12 pm, July 27th

Share on Tumblr

Toronto Councillor Doug Ford wants to shut down libraries because he thinks there are too many of them and no one goes to them. Margaret Atwood — an internationally renowned, best-selling Canadian author and winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, as well as an appointee of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario (Ford’s province), and a member of the Royal Society of Canada — finds fault with Ford’s statement and started a petition in support of keeping libraries open. Doug Ford claims that he’s never heard of Atwood, wouldn’t know her if she walked by him on the street, and if she wants to make any sort of impact on the state of the libraries, she should “go run in the next election and get democratically elected.” So, not only does Doug Ford make a point of going out of his way to be a jerk to Margaret Atwood, but he plays the “I’ve never even heard of this world famous author, so I choose to ignore the impact she’s having on my policies” card? Lame, Doug Ford.
Besides the general icky feeling we get from this story of a male politician telling a woman to sit down and shut up, what’s even more disturbing about it is Doug Ford’s seemingly blatant disregard for the opinions and impact of his constituents. Here’s how it began: Ford — who is a Councillor of Ward 2, Etibicoke North in Toronto and an advisor to his brother, the Mayor of Toronto, Robert Ford (not the coward who assassinated Jesse James, we should mention, but who is described as “thuggish” by Boing Boing) — has vowed to make drastic cuts to “everything that isn’t nailed down,” either by turning public services over to private entities or shutting them down entirely. He would like to shut down the Toronto Public Library and its local branches because he says there are more libraries than Tim Horton’s donut shops. (I believe they are like the Canadian version of Dunkin’ Donuts, but I’ll stand corrected if there is a better comparison.) He also stated that he’d shut down one library in an industrial area because “no one knows it’s there,” when actually, almost 40,000 people know it’s there and visit it every year. Margaret Atwood, who, in addition to being a world-famous author, is a very popular activist in her hometown, Tweeted her disapproval and started an online petition to save the libraries. Since she has over 250,000 followers, that petition promptly crashed.

But Doug Ford, who has been living in some sort of parallel universe, doesn’t really care about what some silly author lady thinks and had this to say in response to her petition and the subsequent crash by all those people who wanted to sign it:

“Well good luck to Margaret Atwood. I don’t even know her. If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a clue who she is … She’s not down here, she’s not dealing with the problem. Tell her to go run in the next election and get democratically elected. And we’d be more than happy to sit down and listen to Margaret Atwood.”

So, basically, if you are a constituent of Doug Ford — like Margaret Atwood is — and you have an opinion about what the people in charge of your town are planning to do with your tax-funded programs and services, the only way to get Doug Ford to listen to you is to become a politician yourself. Or else, shut up.

But even Ford’s colleagues think he’s being a jerk, finding it kind of impossible for him to have no familiarity with Margaret Atwood.

“It’s just not something you say one of Toronto’s, and Canada’s, literary giants,” said Councillor Mike Layton. “She’s Margaret Atwood — she’s pretty important and a source of pride to a lot of people. What I’m hearing from people is mostly embarrassment about his remarks.”

Hear that, Doug Ford? You’re embarrassing your constituents. Maybe if you went to that library that you think doesn’t exist — the one that thousands of your constituents visit — you’d be a little more informed as to what’s happening in Etobicoke.

But just in case, citizens of Toronto, think about starting your political campaigns now.

(Toronto Star via Boing Boing)

TAGS: | | | | |


  • http://wpmututorials.com Andrea_R

    “He would like to shut down the Toronto Public Library and its local branches because he says there are more libraries than Tim Horton’s donut shops. (I believe they are like the Canadian version of Dunkin’ Donuts, but I’ll stand corrected if there is a better comparison.) ”

    Yeah like Dunkin’ Donuts in atmosphere, but ubiquitous like Starbucks. Just to further highlight the inanity of Ford’s statements.

  • Anonymous

    I’m so disappointed to be a Torontonian with these two buffoons in power. How anyone fell for “Ford Nation” is beyond me. 
    ATWOOD FOR MAYOR!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kristin-Frederickson/852880113 Kristin Frederickson

    He’s never heard of Margaret Atwood? It’s scary when uneducated people are put in charge of what happens to places of education.

    Also, for the record, Tim Horton’s is a million times better than Dunkin’ Donuts.

  • http://twitter.com/femmissgeek TheFeminineMissGeek

    “Nobody goes to libraries” means “I don’t go to libraries,” therefore he has never heard of Atwood, and wants to cut something he personally has no use for. Seems like I’ve been seeing this sort of thing a lot. Very lame indeed, sir.

    Agreed, Horton’s > Dunkin’s. They have a few down in Columbus, Ohio for some reason, and no Dunkin’s.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7G4SWUX2MCWWXLMYNN347JMIZY Frodo Baggins

    “I’ve never heard of Margaret Atwood.” The best argument for public libraries.

  • http://twitter.com/thecrystalcrow Kristal Crow

    Whether he’s heard of Atwood or not, he apparently treats all of his constituents this way. The only reason we’re even hearing about this is due to Atwood’s fame. It’s a shame that it takes being known to expose rotten apples.

  • John Wao

    Methinks Mr Ford better be careful what he wishes for.

  • Anonymous

    canada has a pretty sophisticated library system, and they all ready do a lot to cut spending as it is.  for instance, their national library merged with the national archives in 2004 to save money, share resources, and increase access to their patrons (read: everyone in the world with an internet connection).  they also provide services to public libraries, and i imagine this works out well for the toronto public library because both facilities are in the same province.  epic fail, dougster.

    also, the national library/archives hearts the history of canadian comics!  check out these cool galleries:

    http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/comics/027002-5000-e.html

  • Anonymous

    Doug Ford sounds like a “Progressive” Conservative…  You all know,  the ones that are RUINING Canada, right now… They all think entirely too much of themselves and their leader, Stephen Harper, Another “Progressive” Conservative, who’s more Regressive than Conservative…
    Just ask the Western Provinces.

  • http://profiles.google.com/beanecojoe Ribeana Suds

    So glad this story is being picked up by such diverse media. It’s such a gong show in Toronto City Hall right now. I’m really grateful I don’t live there any more. 

    @c_kay:disqus  Atwood for Mayor is right!

  • http://twitter.com/Lyllyth Marianne

    Time and again, Atwood has proven herself to be a beacon of Canadian literature and literacy, environmental advocacy, and I might be the first to call her this, but I’ll dare to call her a BAMF too!!

    Doug Ford: What the have you done? You and your brother should stick to coaching Football and flipping-the-bird to children! (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/07/27/toronto-ford-cellphone.html)

  • Sharmie Taffe-Fletcher

    Atwood didn’t start the petition, but she did tweet in support of it and get a whole new wave of people involved.

    on top of that, there are more Tim Hortons than Libraries in his ward, despite him saying otherwise.

    and i’d also like to mention that Atwood’s books are required reading in many canadian highschool english classes (my school was one of them, four years ago), so many people, especially young people, know who she is and obviously value her opinion wayyy more than Doug Ford!

    worst part is, he’s only one half of an evil mayoral duo that Atwood has taken to calling “Twin Fordmayor”, and referring to them under a single pronoun, which is possibly the most hilarious thing i’ve heard all week.

  • http://twitter.com/acidragdoll Bel

    I think it was a matter of political restlessness.  They picked the guy who shouted the loudest without paying a lot of attention to where the money was going to come from.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Y5B3FZPQLLXJLARLFB452QYMNY Julie

    It’s heartbreaking when you see these are the types of people running your city.  Just because they couldn’t find their way to the local library doesn’t mean they are not used by other people.

     Just in my own immediate family my  father and sister both visit several times a month.  

  • http://twitter.com/acidragdoll Bel

    A few things:

    a) There are NOT more libraries than Tim Hortons, and this claim is at least as absurd as complaining there are more libraries than Starbucks.  They are utterly ubiquitous.

    b) Ford is quite awful to all of his constituants.  There’s a story running in the paper concurrantly with this one about how he was caught by a driver talking on his cell phone at a red light.  She and her young daughter gave him a thumbs down, and he gave them the middle finger.  Some have argued it was a case of mistaken identity, but given that the car’s plates said ROBFORD…

  • http://twitter.com/acidragdoll Bel

    For the interested:

    http://ourpubliclibrary.to/

  • Anonymous

    I wonder what the world would be like if more readers were actually able to gain office…and I mean serious readers (or at least those “serious” enough to have read Margaret Atwood). This guy does not inspire much hope…le sigh.

  • http://twitter.com/AbelUndercity Abel Undercity

    By some strange coincidence, I wouldn’t recognize Doug Ford if I stepped over him in the gutter where he deserves to end up.

  • Anonymous

    Well then, maybe she should take his advice and run. It’d be funny to see him cope with that.

  • http://twitter.com/calg_kiaguy Ed Tanas

    #Toronto #yyc Mayor Ford and his antics have hit the international media I am so glad we have Mayor Nenshi here in Calgary the Mirror Universe Mayor to Ford! Degressive vs. Progressive

  • http://twitter.com/pedestrienne Danielle McCarney

    At least, least, least the passionate people of Toronto are vocal and motivated to do something about this. I have lived in some stupefyingly apathetic places – Toronto, she is not one of them!

  • jay kay

    Did anyone hear the actual audio of Doug?  I’m ashamed to admit I grew up in Etobicoke after hearing him pronounce ‘library’.  Check it out here if you’re interested:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvCXNrzLV4U

  • http://twitter.com/textbkleftovers Textbook Leftovers

    Is this the same Margaret Atwood who wrote “The Handmaid’s Tale?”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Socarraz/100001458086945 Peter Socarraz

    Holly S**t i thoght that kind of deep ignorance was only common in the US, sometimes one is glad to be in Europe where theres a lot of bullshit and corruption too, but even the worst politician would be deeply ashamed of that kind of 9yold stament. Go eat so donuts Doug, but try to read the napkins at least, and then move to something harder like Cinderella or so.