While a flurry of columns, articles and editorials continue to rail against the Doug Ford cabal theft of Greenbelt lands, I thought that a couple of editorial cartoons might be sufficient for today, images that effectively encapsulate the corruption and resulting pungent odour we in Ontario are contending with:
H/t Moudakis
Here in Ontario, there are two reasons our air quality is compromised: this summer's ongoing forest fires and the stench of corruption whose source is Queen's Park. Of the two challenges, the latter is the most foul. The good news, however, is that people are no longer just holding their nose and going about their business. Columns, editorials and voluminous letters to the editor attest to that fact.
In my last post, I encouraged people to read Martin Regg Cohn's piece. He has another one in today's Star that also merits perusal. It insists, using Municipal Affairs Minister Steven Clark's own words, that he must resign.
Now I know the concept of ministerial responsibility has degenerated into being just a quaint notion, but as Regg Cohn points out, it was a principle near and dear to Clark just a handful of years ago - when he and his fellow cabal members were in Opposition.
Day after day, he rose in the legislature demanding that Liberal cabinet ministers do the right thing — resign — after doing the wrong thing. I could list the top 10 reasons why Clark should quit, but he would surely remain impervious to persuasion.
Let us instead recite Clark’s own persuasive reasoning from years past. Given how his own chief of staff orchestrated and curated the Greenbelt giveaway while he feigned ignorance, consider Clark’s record of demanding resignations from other errant ministers:
“It’s sad to say that they’ve killed the tradition — actually, no, the duty — of ministerial responsibility,” Clark hectored the Liberal government in 2016 as he targeted the energy minister of the day (Glenn Thibeault). “There used to be a time when ministers took their integrity seriously and believed they had to have the trust of the province … Will you stand up, premier, walk over to the minister’s desk and ask him to resign?”
In May 2017, Clark gave a long speech on the long-standing tradition that a minister should quit when under a cloud: “A minister of the Crown would do the right thing and step aside until their name was cleared,” he thundered. “There’s never any shame, never any dishonour in doing the right thing.”
The column is filled with examples of Clark's high dudgeon over ministers failing to take responsibility and doing the right thing, all underscoring his current breathtaking corruption and hypocrisy. I highly encourage you to read it.
Meanwhile, the fury expressed in letters to the editor remains unabated.
Ontario to establish working group to deal with Greenbelt probe fallout, Aug. 14
I take great umbrage in being asked to swallow the excuses of our Premier Doug Ford that neither he nor Housing Minister Steve Clark were in the loop on such a red-hot-button decision as opening up the Greenbelt.
Sorry Doug, high school is out and “the dog ate my homework” doesn’t cut it.
I applaud the media for turning the lights on high on this Greenbelt Scandal. Yes folks, SCANDAL. Repeat it often so it becomes indelible in our minds, even when offered a free hamburger at Fordfest.
David Ottenbrite, Cambridge
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives ‘favoured certain developers’ in controversial Greenbelt plan, auditor general finds in scathing report, Aug. 9
I can see the statues in the Gallery of Infamous Conservative Premiers of Ontario with Mike Harris, who gave away Highway 407 and Doug Ford, who gave away the Greenbelt. Surely these two will go down in history as two premiers who did a great disservice to the people of Ontario.
10 key take-aways from the auditor general’s Greenbelt report, Aug. 9
The auditor general’s report confirms it. This government is corrupt. It is not “for the people” but rather for the ultra-rich cronies who are well connected.
The Social Contract has been broken. How can we the people trust anything this government does? The whole premise of a housing “crisis” is a ruse, as outlined in the AG’s Greenbelt report. Even the Ontario government acknowledged in 2022 that there was enough serviceable land outside the Greenbelt to meet the Ford government’s housing targets.
We do have a housing crisis, but it’s about affordability.
$8B question with no believable answers, Aug. 15
Certainly affordable housing must be built. However, there are lands available (not in the Greenbelt) that would certainly serve the purpose.
It is obvious that Ryan Amato, chief of staff for Housing Minister Steve Clark, is the scapegoat in this tawdry mess orchestrated by Premier Doug Ford and Clark.
The entire situation is the quintessence of subterfuge.
Ford, Clark and Amato should take the honourable path and resign.
Jeffrey Manly, Toronto
$8B question with no believable answers, Aug. 15
Doug Ford and his Housing Minister Steve Clark deny any knowledge on how Ryan Amato, chief of staff for the housing minister, decided which land parcels to remove from the Greenbelt, for development.
This despite 78 organizations registering strong opposition to the proposed changes since it was announcement last fall.
Under such scrutiny, it’s impossible to believe that the Premier and housing minister didn’t check and double check the decisions that were made.
If, in fact, they didn’t know that developers were choosing the land tracts to be removed, they should at the very least be declared incompetent and lose their jobs.
Clark and Amato have got to go. And shame on you Doug Ford for insulting the intelligence of the citizens of Ontario thinking we would buy your story.
Laura Fehr, Mississauga
People are angry. They are angry at the betrayal of a premier's promise not to touch the Greenbelt, they are angry at the billions in profits being funnelled to the connected few, and perhaps most of all, they are angry at being treated as brainless, expected to suck up the transparent lies that the Ford cabal is so addicted to perpetuating.
I think this scandal and the current outrage has legs. There is only one solution: a criminal investigation resulting in criminal charges against its architects. It's the only way to clear the air.
No, I'm not referring either to cancer or a crude anatomical term. The "C" word of the day, and of many, many days ahead, I hope, is CORRUPTION, writ large when thinking about and referring to Ontario's Doug Ford's administration/cabal. Hard driving questions from the media, and a wealth of letters to the editor, suggest the Greenbelt theft is not going quietly into that good night.
May the dog days of summer continue thus.
I didn’t realize that senior fellows at the Fraser Institute had taken to comedy writing.
I literally laughed out loud when I read Josef Filipowicz’s column.
There is no way Premier Doug Ford can rebuild trust, and the issues go far beyond the Greenbelt giveaway: the spa no one wants at Ontario Place; moving the Science Centre from its iconic location; saying no one will ever need their credit card to access health care as reports of demands for personal payment multiply daily; underfunding our education system, including not bargaining in good faith with teachers; the emergency room closures, especially in rural areas, to name just a few examples.
People will not stay home when the next election rolls around.
Patricia Wilmot, Toronto
In what world is the “boss” not responsible for the actions of his underlings?
I find Premier Doug Ford’s and the minister of housing Stephen Clark’s statements concerning their staff’s involvement with real estate developers on the Greenbelt preposterous.
I believe an OPP investigation into this file is required.
Further more, these real estate developers do not build “affordable housing,” they build luxury homes on estate-sized lots; the Greenbelt offers great opportunity for this type of housing.
Jim Plant, Port Hope
Premier Doug Ford vowed to leave the protected Greenbelt alone.
Here is what he promised: “The people have spoken. I’m going to listen to them, they don’t want me to touch the Greenbelt, we won’t touch the Greenbelt. Simple as that.”
Not only has he reneged on his promise, but the deal stinks and should be investigated by the RCMP.
What we need is recall regulation that would remove from office the likes of Ford and his cronies. We deserve much better from our representatives.
Norman Favro, Burlington
The auditor general’s report confirms what I and most of Ontario suspected. This government is corrupt. It is not “for the people” but rather for the ultra-rich cronies who are well connected.
In the case of the Greenbelt, the social contract has been broken.
How can we the people trust anything this government does? The whole premise of a housing “crisis” is a ruse. As outlined in the AG report, even the Ontario government acknowledged in 2022 that there was enough serviceable land outside the Greenbelt to meet the Ford government’s housing targets. We do have a crisis, but it’s really about affordability. If anyone thinks that building million-dollar single-family homes in suburban car-dependent cloisters will provide relief to homebuyers, and reduce the numbers of homeless people on our streets, dream on.
Finally, if you subscribe to the Toronto Star, be sure to read Martin Regg Cohn's column today. He notes, with interest, that neither the allegedly rogue chief of staff, Ryan Amato, nor his apparently incompetent boss, Municipal HJousing Minister Steven Clark, have been fired.
I realize that on the surface, the troubles we face in Ontario are likely of little more than passing interest to those living in other jurisdictions. However, wherever citizens live, any government that chooses to lie to its electorate has a corrosive effect on democracy. Some will ask, "What is the point of voting if, after they are elected, they renege on their promises?" That, and similar sentiments undermine faith in our institutions, and that is never good for social cohesion. We have only to look to the United States to see that truth.
Passive acceptance, shrugging cynicism, defeatism: these are the reactions that the Doug Ford cabal both provoke and likely hope for. That, and an electorate with a notoriously short memory. But perhaps this time it will be different, given the brazenness of the Greenbelt theft, the stench of betrayal and corruption of this $8 billion gift to wealthy developers assaulting us daily. The fact that Tory insiders are exultant because the legislature does not resume until late September should only add to our collective anger; that, and the egregious contempt this corrupt administration is showing for our intelligence, evident in Ford doubling down on his messaging that this is all about a stalwart way of meeting the housing crisis.
I sense that messaging is not working. On Sunday, a rally in Pickering protesting the Greenbelt decimation saw hundreds turn out.
“Waiting for Doug Ford to do the Right thing,” read the sign propped up beside the skeleton, mimicking a tableau usually reserved for jokes about Maple Leaf fans waiting for the Stanley Cup.
Pickering is home to the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve — a swath of land once called the “Crown Jewel of the Greenbelt,” that lost its protection when Ford’s Progressive Conservative government made changes to the Greenbelt lands in late 2022.
“We’re not going to let the premier weather this storm,” said Abdullah Mir, 30, the co-chair of a Stop Sprawl Durham. “That’s what these people think, that this whole thing is a joke, and we’re just going to roll over and forget about it. This isn’t the end of it.”
Indeed, judging by the editorials and voluminous letters to the editor, the electorate may have a longer memory than is healthy for a corrupt government's longterm viability. Here are a few letters from The Hamilton Spectator suggesting that the government 'messaging' is not working.
Remember a broken promise
The honest report by Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysk confirms that Doug Ford and housing minister’s chief of staff and minister Steve Clark must go due to lies and Greenbelt decisions rendered. The disregard for Ontario’s public intelligence with their broken promises is ridiculous. Would the First Nations Leaders continue to intervene due to their success with Douglas Creek and Land Back Lane and everyone support all the groups and agencies that are trying to hold Ford and friends accountable. Prime farmland and environmentally sensitive areas require protection from the thieves.
Will all Ontario voters please remember the broken promise by Ford?
Garry Young, Canfield
Don’t hook up new houses
I wonder if any city is under a legal obligation to connect a new survey to their water and sewer systems. If not, why not just let the developers know that they will not be hooking them up and see what happens.
Terry Middlemiss, Hamilton
Time for Ford to go
Doug Ford is a dangerous concoction of arrogance, incompetence and greed. He is an offence to the voting public and our democratic process. He should be removed from office forthwith including his entourage of lawless delinquents.
This abuse of power is crying out for an investigation by the OPP for what he has done and will continue to do if left in office
Ross Prince, Hamilton
A better Greenbelt solution
So, removal of 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt could result in a $8.3 billion windfall for select developers. Corruption? To be determined. Incentive for corruption? Obviously.
When land is required for community interests (say an LRT system), the owners of said land do not “win the lottery.” Instead, the government expropriates the land, paying fair market value. Why not the same rules for developers?
If opening up Greenbelt land is truly required to address housing concerns (dubious to say the least), then expropriate said land at the nonspeculative current fair market price and sell it back to the highest bidder after the zoning changes are made. Voilà , the $8.3 billion windfall goes to all citizens of Ontario (at the price of green space lost forever), not a select well-connected few.
Such a change would remove a strong motivation for corruption. As an added bonus I also suspect it would result in developers suddenly becoming much more interested in infilling or building on currently available serviced land than on lobbying for zoning changes.
Kirt Kushnie, Waterdown
If you have read anything coming out of Ontario Auditor General's report into the removal of Greenbelt lands for development, you will know that the stench of corruption is deep and pervasive in the Doug Ford government. I watched Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark's damage-control news conference this afternoon, and it was staggeringly unconvincing.
No heads will roll, not even that of Clark's chief of staff. All the hapless duo would admit to was that they are committed to "improving the process."
The following analysis sifts through the facts concisely, articulating the truth to be found in this sordid debacle:
I'm sure that Premier Ford hopes no one is monitoring his ongoing corruption and his destruction of much-needed Greenbelt land. Star readers puncture that illusion.
Ford on defensive over probe
Doug Ford criticizes auditor general over Greenbelt investigation, July 13
Dear Doug Ford, please don’t mistake the electorate’s lack of attention for stupidity. As you very well know, many people are apathetic and do not pay attention to politics. However, we Ontarians are not stupid when confronted with the facts concerning your developer friends benefitting from your decision to open up the Greenbelt. People are well aware that if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and, in this case, smells like a duck, it most certainly is a duck. All your “friends and folks” rhetoric changes nothing and only reinforces the mistrust that we have for you and your buddies.
As Ontario’s auditor general continues her “value-for-money” audit into the Progressive Conservative government’s decision to open up 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt, let’s remember: Premier Doug Ford’s developer buddies benefited from the Greenbelt land swap. Now, Michael Rice and Silvio De Gasperis are going to court separately in the hope of not having to testify under oath and providing the additional records the auditor general wants. If everything is so squeaky clean, why are Ford’s buddies going to court? This is only the tip of the iceberg. The full story must be allowed to come out.
Ford says he hopes to collaborate with mayor, July 13
So, Premier Doug Ford expects Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to collaborate with him. With whom did Ford collaborate when he reduced the size of Toronto’s council? With whom did Ford collaborate when he changed the Greenbelt boundaries? With whom did Ford collaborate regarding Highway 413? With whom did Ford collaborate when he decided to move the science centre? With whom did Ford collaborate when he awarded the spa contract on Ontario Place grounds? With whom did Ford collaborate with when . . . Ford wants others to collaborate with him but when it is time for him to collaborate with others, there appears to be a barrier.
Doug Ford's legacy of selling out Ontarians will never be forgotten.
Dave's tale of the Conservative provincial government currently in power is one of incompetence, conflict of interest and, quite possibly, corruption. It is the same array of scourges we face in Ontario under Doug Ford who, although he promotes a folksy persona, has his heart firmly held in the greedy grasp of business, most particularly the business of his developer friends. Witness the systematic unraveling of the Greenbelt and the circus-like transformation Doug envisions for Ontario Place - a 'world-class' spa.
My conversation with Dave was spent in part in mutual commiseration, but being an Ontarian, I couldn't help but feel that our provincial malfeasance, in all of its corrupt splendour, trumps that of our neighbour to the west.
And I am hardly alone in appreciating the magnitude of the situation here at home, as a variety of letters-to-the editor attest to.
It’s galling to see Doug Ford on another self congratulating photo op this time with medical students. I wonder if he talked about how the health care system in Ontario is imploding as we breathe and he has the money and means to slow/stop this to an extent but refuses to. It would spoil his personal agenda and he might have to consider he was wrong on many decisions and as we have seen before, that does not bode well with him. Once graduated, why would any health care professional want to stay here when you see what you have to deal with in reality realizing you could have it better just about anywhere.
Robert Panchyson, Burlington
There is one major difference between Manitoba and Ontario, however, that is sobering. The former must face the electorate in the fall, while we in Ontario must continue to groan under the yoke of incompetence, greed and corruption until 2026.
Some days, that seems like a very, very long way off.
