EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
While speaking of his desire to see tougher bail rules and mandatory minimum sentencing, Premier Doug Ford shared a story Tuesday about personally chasing and threatening a person accused of stealing.
Ford shared the anecdote with Global News’ Ben Mulroney at an Empire Club of Canada event in Toronto, saying it took place a few months ago when he took his pickup truck to a Home Depot without his security detail.
His mission, he said, was to get some plants for his cottage before Prime Minister Mark Carney visited in July.
Ford said he saw a "guy with a backpack" walking out, while the store manager was yelling out, "Come back, come back."
"I was in my car. I said, 'Screw this, I'm going after this guy.' So, and by this time, my heart's beating, I'm ticked off," he said. "I pull up behind him, I jump out of the car. I said, 'Buddy, what's in your bag?' 'Nothing's in my bag.' I said, 'Buddy, I'm going to kick your ass all over the parking lot. Show me what's in your bag.'"
Ford said the man pulled a saw blade from one of his bags, which the store manager claimed was stolen.
"By this time ... I'm just in a full-out rage on this guy," said Ford.
"And then I went on to tell him, if I ever see him in the parking lot, he's going to get a beating like he's never got before," Ford told the crowd at the lunch event.
Ford's office didn't provide any comment or more details about the incident before publication.
Speaking to reporters following the fireside chat, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said he hadn't heard the story before, "but it sure sounds like the premier."
Asked about the premier threatening to beat up someone, Bethlenfalvy downplayed Ford's comments, saying, "No, I think what he was, just as he does, speaks from the heart about how frustrating it is for many Canadians, for many Ontarians, where, you know, people get out on bail repeatedly. So we need bail reform. We need tougher legislation. Ottawa has to take the lead."
The Ford government hasn't been shy about its asks of the federal government on justice reform.
Last month, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner and Attorney General Doug Downey wrote a letter to federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser outlining the Ford government's several asks, including a call to “remove bail availability” for those charged with murder, terrorism, human and drug trafficking, as well as intimate partner violence, among other offences.
At the time, Ford said in a social media post that the letter lays out “Ontario’s expectation for tough bail reform that keeps criminals behind bars and keeps our streets safe.”
In the fireside chat, Ford said that concern over crime is rising in Ontario.
"We're out in the field every day, we're doing polls. I've never seen crime go from ... eighth out of 10, up to number one beside economy and health care," the premier said in response to a question about what his government would like to see from Ottawa on criminal justice reform. "People are done with this crime. Everyone in this room knows someone that got their car stolen or (experienced) a home invasion."
He called for "tough bail reform" — slamming judges for letting individuals out on bail several times following "violent crimes" — and "mandatory sentences so when a criminal goes in with a gun, you know you're doing X amount of years."
Another call was to strengthen the Youth Criminal Justice Act so that youth can be sentenced as adults for serious crimes.
"There's too many judges that are just bleeding hearts ... 'Oh, we gotta give them a second chance,'" Ford said. "No, these are troublemakers. These kids need to be sentenced, and they need to learn before they go in, there are consequences when you go in with a gun on a violent crime."
—With files from Katherine DeClerq and Steve Cornwell