Putting The Fox In Charge Of The Henhouse

 .... is the metaphor NDP environment critic Sandy Shaw uses to describe Doug Ford's appointment of Norm Sterling to head the Greenbelt Council in Ontario. 

Sterling, whose reputation as environment under Mike Harris was anything but, would seem to be an odd choice to head the Council only if one were unaware of the contempt Ford has shown for any obstacles impeding the enrichment of his many developer friends.

Sterling replaces David Crombie, who resigned in November over the province’s controversial limiting of local conservation authorities’ ability to deny development permits for sensitive lands. Crombie called the moves by Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government “high-level bombing” that “needs to be resisted.”

Sterling’s appointment set off a new wave of criticism for the Ford government, which has frequently used ministerial zoning orders to force particular development approvals and is pushing to build Highway 413 through parts of the Greenbelt, a band of protected farmland, forests, rivers and lakes.

The Opposition NDP noted Sterling voted in 2005 against the creation of the Greenbelt.

Sterling's pathetic record speaks for itself:

In 1995, Sterling faced criticism for slashing the Environment Ministry’s budget by 40 per cent while arguing that “implementing stronger environmental policies” would counter the funding loss.

Later, the Walkerton tainted water inquiry concluded that Harris-era cuts led to the end of lab testing for municipalities in 1996 and helped set the stage for the 2000 disaster that killed seven people and sickened thousands of others. 

As public attention remains fixed on the Covid crisis, it is likely the Ford braintrust believes now is the ideal time to slip one past us; however, people are paying attention. Says Toronto Councilor Gord Perks:

“I have no hesitation saying that I’ve been watching environment ministers going way back and will say without hesitation that Norm was the most anti-environmental of them all”.

“The step down from (former Toronto mayor) David Crombie to Norm Sterling is to step down from somebody who cares to somebody who will actively wreck things.”

But Sterling rejects such criticism with a "nothing-to-see-here" dismissal:

“My motives are to give future generations the freedom to make decisions about where our province is going with regard to resources,” Sterling said.

And with obvious contempt for the public's intelligence, he asserts that we can have our cake and eat it too:

In terms of his plans for protecting the Greenbelt, given the pressure from housing developers, Sterling said it’s a difficult problem, but he believes he’ll find solutions.

“We can do it … we can retain the best parts of our natural resources, but we also have to be concerned about how we’re going to provide people with places to live. We’re going to have to listen to a lot of people to advise us on how we might do this,” Sterling said. 

Given both Sterling's past record and the ideological bent of the current government, there is little doubt as to who he will be listening to most.

Ontario, as has become the norm under Doug Ford and the gang, continues to be in deep, deep trouble.