As most of us know, magicians use misdirection to accomplish their seemingly amazing feats. In the hands of a skilled practitioner, the process is seamless and awe-inspiring. In the hands of a rank amateur, contemptuous laughter and ridicule are more likely responses.
Doug Ford is no master of prestidigitation.
That fact becomes increasingly obvious as he tries to finesse his way out of the Greenbelt scandal, a self-induced and egregious display of his corruption that no amount of misdirection can mitigate. For anyone watching or reading the news, his address to the Associations of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) proves both his ineptitude and his venality.
In a blatant bribe to Ontario municipalities, Ford unveiled a $1.2 billion 'fund' to reward those jurisdictions that meet or exceed their new housing goals; indeed, even those who achieve 80% of those targets are eligible for some compensation. The prospect of money- ya gotta love it.
And if that isn't sweet enough for them, he is promising to grant 'strong-mayor' powers to an array of newly-named towns and cities, just so that they need not be bound by any impediments erected by their councils. To me, both measures offer a window into the shrivelled soul of our premier. Assuming he mirrors most people's values, he expects both the bribes and strong-man rule will carry the day, effectively misdirecting us from the Greenbelt scandal that is of his own making and further eroding local democracy
There are only a few problems with that strategy. One, it assumes we will forget the many development fees charged to builders that have been eliminated - the new fund is wholly inadequate compensation for those lost fees. While Ford may choose to ignore it, the fact is that building infrastructure to service new home builds is very expensive, much more than simply hooking up sewer lines, etc. on land that has already been developed and lying vacant throughout Ontario.
Second, those who have the capacity for critical thought will see that this is yet another gift to developers, a taxpayer-funded subsidy that will only enhance their profits. Last time I looked, the likes of De Gasperis and Rice were not going to food banks for their daily bread. But I suppose their needs are much greater than those of the average person, eh?
Third, and this I confess I wasn't aware of, he is raising the spectre of a backlash against immigrants if he doesn't get his way. Martin Regg Cohn writes:
Doug Ford is peddling a risky strategy to save his political skin, and it’s not pretty.
Unless we gut the Greenbelt, we can’t construct all the homes needed for waves of new immigrants and refugees.
And unless we build all that new housing urgently, resentment will build up rapidly against all those newcomers.
Day after day, as the premier digs himself into a deeper and deeper political hole, he repeatedly raises the alarm: If you block the bulldozing of protected lands, you risk a popular backlash.
...on Monday, in a highly touted speech to municipal leaders from across the province, the premier repeated his gut-the-Greenbelt-or-else warning: “Failing that would threaten to erode Canadians’ unwavering support for immigration.”
That is a new low, even for the morally bankrupt Ford.
The next provincial election cannot come soon enough.
