Who Needs A Gravy Plane? [Jet For Sale Edition]

No one needs a private jet, including the premier of Ontario. The short-lived purchase offers a lesson for governments everywhere.

From time to time, I’m the unexpected defender of politicians having nice things. Or decent things, at least. My father was a mechanic and he taught me that you need the right tools to get the job done, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about having and using them. It was a simple and obvious lesson, and while he didn’t keep his own car in repair, I never heard tell of a commercial truck he worked on that wasn’t up to snuff. That’s why I advocate for Canada housing the prime minister in a home fit for the office, and why you won’t catch me whinging if a Cabinet minister flies business class or types away in an airport lounge.

At some point, however, one hits their head on the ceiling that demarcates a division between necessary and indulgent. When the government of Ontario purchased a private jet last week for Premier Doug Ford, a head bonked. At $28.9 million (plus operating costs, with the price of fuel surging), the “used” plane, built in 2016, didn’t read as a bargain. I could buy a used Maserati and emphasize the thrift, but I don’t think I could sell the framing to my partner, because she’s not a fool. Ontarians aren’t fools, either.

I’d finished the first draft of this piece on Sunday just ahead of 11:30 am ET. That’s when I popped over to read the news, taking a break before edits. It’s also when I read that the Ford government was selling the plane, citing, ah, public feedback and this being the wrong time to spend tens of millions on a private jet. One wonders when a good time would be. Either way, it was a wise move for the government. It meant more edits for me. But a wise move indeed.

So what now?