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| Anita Szigeti |
Just learning of his reaction, a reasonable observer might imagine that this violence was retaliatory, perhaps self-defence triggered by an imminent danger posed to the man himself or a member of his immediate family. Or maybe he was a Good Samaritan intervening to save a woman from being sexually assaulted. But no, what actually happened, also according to Ford, was that he overheard a security guard at a Home Depot yelling at a man to “come back,” suspecting that the individual may have stolen something from the store. That’s it. Ford then took it upon himself to get in his car, chase the man, conduct a sort of search of the individual’s belongings, threaten him with violence and unleash some obscenities. Keep in mind the security guard had already explained that he was not permitted to follow the man away from the store. And there are good reasons for professional security never to engage in the behaviour our premier demonstrated.
There is literally nothing in this story worthy of condoning, let alone commending or, heaven forbid, glorifying. The premier’s actions were wrong-headed, ill-advised, dangerous and offensive. He engaged in an act of vigilantism, making himself judge and jury in relation to what was barely even an allegation. He couldn’t have known that anything was actually stolen and he had absolutely no legal or other right to engage in a high-speed car chase, effectively try to take someone into “custody,” detain, search, bully, abuse or threaten violence to a stranger. The fact that he is the province’s premier makes all this so much more inflammatory.
First of all, incidents of this kind of “rage,” including instances of road rage too often exhibited by drivers in Toronto’s busy traffic — moments of uncontrolled and seemingly uncontrollable anger — put everyone involved at risk of serious harm. As a society we are interested in reducing such interactions, not inflaming them by effectively inciting the public to go lean into their momentary flights of, well, “rage” in relation to unprovoked interactions with other citizens. Even worse, what happened here had absolutely nothing to do with Ford, who just happened to be in the Home Depot buying his plants. His behaviour risked unpredictable outcomes, including physical injury to himself, the other involved individual or others. To the extent that this is the example he wants to set for Ontarians, it’s a dangerous precedent and an irresponsible, hateful message to send, that can only cause us all harm. “Go get them” ‘cause “that’s what you have to do” incites all kinds of violence and fosters even more contempt and hate for the most vulnerable among us.
Let’s accept for a minute that something was actually stolen in this case. Of course, in the ordinary course, if that allegation were made, criminal charges might have resulted and due process, including full answer and defence by the accused person, including potentially a trial of the issues, may have ensued. Because that’s how, in this country, we address criminal allegations. Through our criminal justice system. Not by calling on our citizens to respond however the mood strikes them in the moment they think they might have witnessed something suspicious or even potentially criminal. We neither have nor do we get to encourage open season on shoplifters.
But even with all else that’s so troubling about this regrettable and shameful demonstration of the worst machoism imaginable, it all pales in comparison to the unspoken underlying utter disregard our premier has for the reality that our most vulnerable citizens are living right now; a devastating reality that is most often at the root of incidents of shoplifting. People generally do not steal for the fun of it. They take items from stores without paying for them because they either need the things they might take in order to survive and can’t afford them or because they are dealing with mental health or addictions issues that drive the behaviour.
It cannot come as a surprise to anyone paying attention that many Ontarians are struggling to keep their heads above water with inflation, food prices out of control, lack of affordable housing in Toronto and elsewhere and still managing all kinds of fallout from a pandemic. Mental health issues are plaguing the population in record numbers. Those who use drugs no longer have access to safe consumption sites that previously reduced harm and saved lives. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, that too is on Ford and this government — the closure of the only safe havens that actually helped people who use drugs, driving them into the streets to use and exacerbating their already precarious situation. No doubt petty theft and other nuisance criminality is also on the rise, not entirely unrelated to fewer supports for individuals living with serious mental health or substance use issues.
True leadership in a situation like the one Ford observed this week would have been the polar opposite of what he chose to do and advocates doing. A real leader, someone with an ounce of compassion and humanity, if they chose to insert themselves into an incident most people would not have chosen to engage with, would have started with a conversation. Asked the person whether anything was wrong and what they could do to help. Because if someone has taken something from a store like Home Depot, there is a reason. That reason is much more likely a symptom of underlying marginalization, poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, mental health challenges or substance use.
What someone engaged in petty theft most often needs are supports and resources. In our criminal defence practices, we see criminal charges pursued in such cases too often without a meaningful examination of the underlying issues or systemic responses that would reduce the incidents of such minor offending.
What we don’t often see is a random stranger, let alone an elected official, threatening violence on someone they think might have lifted a tool without paying. I for one hope we never see this again. And that Doug Ford appreciates the error of his ways or even, against all odds, learns something from the richly deserved backlash against his reprehensible conduct in this case.
Anita Szigeti is the principal lawyer at Anita Szigeti Advocates, a boutique Toronto law firm specializing in mental health justice litigation. She is the founder of two national volunteer lawyer associations: the Law and Mental Disorder Association and Women in Canadian Criminal Defence. Find her on LinkedIn, follow her on X and on her blog.
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