“They have to get people back to work,” Premier Doug Ford said during a press conference on Thursday in Ottawa, standing next to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

“It sounds crazy. I’m begging people to go to work for three days — not that they aren’t working at home, but it really affects the downtown.”

  • psvrh
    49·
    3 months ago

    So we’re supposed to truck ourselves for an hour or more in a car, at our expense, to spend money in a downtown that we can’t afford to live in, so that landlords–who are already rich–can get richer? How about landlords pull themselves up by their bootstraps, stop buying lattes and avocado toast, and cancel their Disney+ subscription?

    Also:

    • This is rich, coming from a guy who avoids downtowns where possible, and ran away and hid when the Convoy occupied Ottawa
    • If you want people to live downtown, how about providing for actual affordable housing in downtown? Get out your chequebook and fucking build it, Doug.
    • Funderpants OP
      19·
      3 months ago

      Yes, that’s exactly what he wants. Ford wants you to be miserable, develop commute related mental health problems, burn through your money buying lunch since you don’t have time to make it at home, miss time with your family, gain weight, pollute the atmosphere and then leave at the end of the day be a use you can’t afford to live there. All so corporate landlords and restaurant owners can get their God given cut of your money.

      Meanwhile, of course, he is whining about the high cost of living while he schemes to increase it for everyone who works at home.

    • downpunxx@fedia.io
      121·
      3 months ago

      In order to make the property values of a downtown rise, they must first be a necessary destination, and that’s where all the back to office bullshit comes from, they don’t want to put public funds towards this, affordable rents, public spaces, etc. they want it to grow value organically by forcing people to have to go there in the first place, you see

  • Funderpants OP
    37·
    3 months ago

    The entitlement Ford shows for business owners to other peoples money and time absolutely disgusts me.

    Ford called his plea a “simple request” — for the federal government to require public servants to return to the office at least three days a week, a point of contention for many public servants during contract negotiations last year.

    “You got to get the economy going downtown. These restaurants are hurting, the shops are hurting. Ridership on the transit’s hurting,” he said.

    “I think that’s a normal request. You get hired, come to work. Imagine if I told everyone else in the province you don’t have to go to work? Our economy would be shot. So, they shouldn’t get special treatment.”

    • snooggums@midwest.socialEnglish
      22·
      3 months ago

      I assume that the need is so great that they will give everyone a significant raise for coming back to the office that covers their need to buy things downtown and their additional commute time, right?

      Right?

      • namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev
        12·
        3 months ago

        Not only that, what about the downtowns where people actually live? This is basically just picking winners here, saying those downtowns don’t matter, but the ones in major cities do. Pretty shameless exhibition of picking winners and losers here…

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      143·
      3 months ago

      If it makes you feel better:

      Biden did the same thing a couple months ago to every federal agency in America.

      At least you don’t have to pretend Doug Ford is the most progressive option anyone is allowed to ask for

  • Undearius
    33·
    3 months ago

    it really affects the downtown

    Well, I can at least respect the honesty, rather than the typical “collaborative work” bullshit.

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
      6·
      3 months ago

      My manager was honest about it for the first time and I had to call him out for saying we’re expected to keep downtown areas alive when they could convert office buildings into living spaces with people there 24/7.

      Downtown Ottawa services closed at 2:30pm when all public servants still went to work at the office!

  • veeeEnglish
    22·
    3 months ago

    For the love of god, won’t someone please think of the parking garages!

  • Avid Amoeba
    8·
    3 months ago

    The shock that we reelected this turd still hasn’t worn off for me. I’m afraid that the next provincial election might cause even more trauma.