Dinner with Doug

And organized labour pains

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TIMING IS EVERYTHING — DOUG FORD’s big-ticket Leader’s Dinner and cocktail reception fundraising event is back on tonight on his home turf in Etobicoke, conveniently landing on the eve of the Premier’s birthday.

It’s the first cash haul of its kind since the Greenbelt scandal iced the tradition — not exactly the best optics to be asking donors to cough up the big bucks, in tonight’s case a cool $1,500, when your government is being accused of favouring donors and PC-friendly operatives on the daily. So you’re forgiven for feeling the déjà vu — the Skills Development Fund imbroglio is casting clouds on tonight’s event, too.

Even some Tory insiders tell me they think it’s a bad idea to bring back such dinners while dealing with SDF scrutiny. The ruling PCs have consistently left their rivals in the dust when it comes to fundraising, and that will probably continue with the latest changes to campaign finance rules, like raising donation limits…