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Ontario Premier Doug Ford (centre) sits in the chamber after Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivers the Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review to the Queens Park Legislature, in Toronto, on Monday, November 14, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Chris YoungChris Young/The Canadian Press
Let’s leave aside for a moment whether Doug Ford is right to want to take land in Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt to make way for more housing. Opponents say removing the two-million-acre buffer would threaten the environment and gift his developer friends. Advocates say the government is only taking a piece of protected land, that it is adding more land elsewhere to compensate, and that the province desperately needs more housing to meet the growing population of Greater Toronto and Hamilton region.
Let’s see it as a matter of democratic principle instead. If judged that way, Mr. is clearly offside. Ford.
Before he first became premier in 2018, he said in the strongest terms imaginable that he would no remove any land from the Greenbelt. “There are a lot of voices saying they don’t want to touch the Greenbelt,” Mr. It was Ford. “I govern through the people, I don’t govern through government. The people have spoken – we will not touch the Greenbelt.”
This is not some off-the-cuff statement. Mr. Ford was attacked at the time because his Liberal rivals released a video that showed him saying he would open up “a large part” of the Greenbelt for development. By reversing herself and saying she’s going to leave him after all, she’s moving to take the issue off the table and a target on her back. The pledge may have calmed the fears of some voters and influenced the outcome of the election, which ended with a healthy majority for Mr. Ford.
Since then, he and his ministers have brushed off the concerns of suspicious rivals and environmental groups about their intentions regarding the Greenbelt. When the government introduced legislation in 2018 to make it easier for municipalities to speed up approval for offices and factories, Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, insisted that “we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect the Greenbelt for future generations.”
A partial list of land subject to Greenbelt protections sold since the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2018
Places of
agreement
outside of
Green belt
King Township – south of Miller’s Sideroad,
east of Dufferin St and west of Bathurst St
Buyer: Green Lane Bathurst GP Inc.
Sale date: September 20, 2022
11011 Pine Valley Dr, Vaughan
Buyer: TACC Developments (Block 41) Inc.
11861 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Buyer: 2743903 Ontario Inc.
Sale date: April 20, 2020
12045 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Sale date: September 20, 2021
12045 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Sale date: September 20, 2021
10378 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2714791 Ontario Ltd.
10235 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2724265 Ontario Ltd.
10541 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2724270 Ontario Ltd.
Sale date: March 20, 2021
Buyer: 2615898 Ontario Inc.
Buyer: 502 Winston Road Inc.
Note: The numbers 4 and 5 are two characteristics
with the same address.
john sopinski and murat yükselir /
the globe and mail, Source:
GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO
A partial list of land subject to Greenbelt protections sold since the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2018
Places of
agreement
outside of
Green belt
King Township – south of Miller’s Sideroad,
east of Dufferin St and west of Bathurst St
Buyer: Green Lane Bathurst GP Inc.
Sale date: September 20, 2022
11011 Pine Valley Dr, Vaughan
Buyer: TACC Developments (Block 41) Inc.
11861 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Buyer: 2743903 Ontario Inc.
Sale date: April 20, 2020
12045 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Sale date: September 20, 2021
12045 McCowan Rd, Stouffville
Sale date: September 20, 2021
10378 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2714791 Ontario Ltd.
10235 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2724265 Ontario Ltd.
10541 Highway 48, Markham
Buyer: 2724270 Ontario Ltd.
Sale date: March 20, 2021
Buyer: 2615898 Ontario Inc.
Buyer: 502 Winston Road Inc.
Note: The numbers 4 and 5 are two characteristics
with the same address.
john sopinski and murat yükselir /
the globe and mail, Source: GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO
A partial list of land subject to Greenbelt protections sold since the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2018
Places of residence
outside the Greenbelt
King Township – south of Miller’s
Sideroad, east of Dufferin St and
west of Bathurst St
Green Lane Bathurst GP Inc.
11011 Pine Valley Drive, Vaughan
TACC Developments
(Block 41) Inc.
11861 McCowan Road, Stouffville
12045 McCowan Road, Stouffville
12045 McCowan Road, Stouffville
10378 Highway 48, Markham
10235 Highway 48, Markham
10541 Highway 48, Markham
775 Kingston Road E, Ajax
502 Winston Road, Grimsby
Note: Numbers 4 and 5 are two properties with the same address.
john sopinski and murat yükselir/the globe and mail, Source: GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO
In 2020, under questioning in the legislature, Mr. Clark said he made it clear to every community “that if you give us a request to develop property within the Greenbelt, we have a short answer: No.” Just a year ago, Mr. Ford said he promised “we’re not going to make the Greenbelt for developers” and “we’ve kept that promise.”
The government cannot argue, as governments often do, that changed circumstances justify its reversal. The need for housing was urgent when Mr. Ford did his I-won’t-touch-it-it and it’s urgent now. Nothing changed. It was a big issue in this year’s provincial election campaign, where he promised to build lots of new housing but said nothing about opening up the Greenbelt.
The Premier is simply reneging on a clear promise he made to the voters of Ontario. That would be wrong no matter who made the promise, but it was even more disgusting coming from Mr. Ford. He portrays himself as a straight shooter, a politician who always does what he said he would do. One of his favorite slogans is: Promises made, promises kept. “We will make sure we fulfill every promise,” he said after winning re-election this year.
Except for this one, apparently.
The man who claims to lead a government “for the people” seems to have very little respect for them. The broken Greenbelt promise is just the latest evidence of Mr. Ford’s penchant for running on democratic values and rights.
He has used or threatened to use the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution at least three times, which consists of the Charter rights of Ontarians. More recently, he empowered the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa to win some votes with only a third of councilors on their side (although the Ottawa mayor said he would never use the power). He cut the size of Toronto’s council by nearly half in the middle of the municipal election campaign, without notifying voters.
All these measures are destroying the foundations of our democracy. But there is not much at stake because politicians who make solemn promises at election time will only pull them back once they are in power. Politics and politicians are in bad odor with voters for just this reason. Cynicism and alienation are on the rise. Voter turnout is hitting historic lows.
Ontario needs more housing, but more than that it needs a healthy democracy. Mr. should hang Ford is his head.
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