We're just going to take a break from the local elections for a moment, while we check out the hot mess Premier Doug Ford is making at Queen's Park.

Ford's feud with Toronto city council has resulted in him overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms so he can (literally) cut it down to size.

His unprecedented use of the so-called notwithstanding clause, which allows the legislature to enact a law even though it has been found by a court to violate the charter, led to angry protests in the public gallery and opposition benches. People were led away in handcuffs. Several New Democrat MPPs were ejected from the legislature for banging on their desks .

Under the circumstances, who can even think about the race for regional chair? After all, it's pretty clear now that Ford could wipe Waterloo Region off the map if he wanted.

The whole business has "sure taken up a lot of the oxygen" in Waterloo Region , said Scott McMillan, chair of the public school board, who is running for a seat on Woolwich township council.

"I'm not getting calls about sex education anymore," he noted.

As controversial as Ford's move is, it's also perfectly legal. He has said he might use the clause again, too. He points out that he was elected and the judge, Justice Edward Belobaba, was appointed.

There's no question that an old-school "gentleman" premier like Bill Davis (who has condemned the move) or Bob Rae or Dalton McGuinty would have respected the courts and not used the clause for anything but an emergency.

But Ford doesn't play by those rules. He's a disruptor. He even said he "won't be shy" about doing it again and asserted that "the people" are with him.

Election reform activist David Arthur isn't so sure about that last statement.

Ford won the June election, and a healthy majority of seats, but received just over 40 per cent of the vote in Ontario's June 7 election.

If the province had a proportional representation system, in which the distribution of elected politicians matched the votes cast, Ford's Progressive Conservatives would have only 40 per cent of the seats. The other 60 per cent would have gone to the other parties.

They would have voted together to block Ford's use of the "notwithstanding" clause, and the judge's decision would have been respected, said Arthur, a retired teacher who lives in Kitchener.

Our current electoral system "enables all this to happen," he said of Ford's behaviour.

"It enables dictators."

Ford "should not be able to do whatever he wants regardless of the law or the Constitution. It is dangerous," said Arthur.

Ontario had a referendum in 2007 on whether the voting system should be changed to a mixed-member proportional system that more accurately reflects the views of voters.

But the proposal failed, with only 37 per cent in support, and 63 per cent saying they wanted to keep the first-past-the-post system we have now.

If we took the same poll today, I wonder if the results would be different.

Even U.S. President Donald Trump is restrained by the Supreme Court, which enforces the Constitution. Ford is a perfect example of how dangerous it is to allow one person, elected or not, to have so much power.

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ldamato@therecord.com

Twitter: @DamatoRecord