Not Exactly As Advertised

Despite all of Doug Ford's bluster and lies about how important the Greenbelt is to meet his goal of building 1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years, the reality of real estate in Ontario, indeed, in Canada as a whole, offers a quite different picture.

So far this year, there were 44,000 housing starts in the first and second quarters, slightly above 40,100 during the same period last year.

Still, those numbers are far behind the province’s 150,000 yearly target to reach 1.5 million new homes in a decade. And while the first half of 2023 is above 2022 levels, experts warn the rest of the year will take a hit with construction on new projects declining as the industry faces an acute labour shortage and high interest rates.

This undoubtedly comes as an inconvenient truth for Mr. Ford and his cabal, given how much emphasis they have placed on the necessity of stealing from the Greenbelt to meet their goals. 

Last month, a Desjardins report noted that in the second half of 2023, there will be a more significant slowdown in new starts as the construction industry faces acute labour shortages, mixed with high borrowing and material costs and expectations of softening economic activity — deterring developers and investors.

And in terms of affordability, forget about it. According to Marc Desormeaux, the principal economist at Desjardins,

“[t]he so-called ‘missing middle’ remains largely absent from new home construction,” he said, referring to multi-unit homes such as duplexes, midrise apartments and purpose-built rentals, which offer more affordable options than single-family homes.

There are ways around these obstacles, as recommended last year by the province's own task force on housing affordability. Those recommendations, however,  run counter to Ford's obligations to enrich his developer puppet-masters. Included in the solutions were

densification in urban centres by building more mid- to highrise buildings, transforming single-family homes into multiple units, and building more transit-oriented communities.

Most interesting, from my perspective, is what Professor Mike Moffatt observes:

Importantly, he said, the report noted there is enough land to build on to meet these targets and that environmentally sensitive areas must be protected.

“Building on the Greenbelt goes against his government’s own recommendations to achieve the 1.5 million target,” he said. “There are many other ways to build the housing we need, we have enough land to do it.”

The Ford oligarchs have shown no intention of backing down on their plans to pillage the Greenbelt, despite the report's conclusions.

But then again, the people of Ontario have shown no sign of backing down on their fierce, spirited opposition to the theft.

We will see who wins this battle.

 

 

 

 

 

Yet Another Post About Corruption

 

H/t Patrick Corrigan

I'm fairly certain that readers who have stuck with me during my protracted postings on the Doug Ford corruption scandal are growing a bit weary of my apparent monomania. I don't blame you. Even I get tired of writing about a situation that seems to have no resolution, given how intractable Doug and his Slugs are proving on the Greenbelt theft. 

How can any of us move forward, with the stench of corruption still so pungent? The Toronto Star has a few suggestions:

Two investigations have condemned the process to select Greenbelt lands for new housing. The controversy has led to the resignations of a senior political aide, Ryan Amato, and Steve Clark, who had been municipal affairs and housing minister. A government chastened by such findings — and which put any any priority on doing the right thing — would have immediately reversed decisions revealed to be corrupted and politically driven.

And yet, as last week ended, not only was Ford moving ahead with development on 7,400 acres of Greenbelt lands but astonishingly, he suggested that more of this protected band of greenspace could be carved out for new housing following a review.

Let’s recall the many problems with how those lands were picked — lack of consultation, lack of regard to the environmental impacts, overwhelming negative feedback swept aside, gerrymandering of the selection criteria, and most appalling of all, the overriding influence of developers on what lands were chosen.

Despite damning reports from both tha auditor general and the integrity commissioner, the Ford band of robbers plays on, which raises questions that demand answers:n

.... why [are] Ford and his Progressive Conservatives ... so beholden [to] developers, so eager to bend to their wishes, that they’re willing to cast aside good governance and public opinion?

It more than defies explanation. It demands further investigation.

First, we need a police investigation. Ford has said he is “confident” there was no criminality. This from the politician who told the auditor general he was “unaware” of the many other problems on the file. The RCMP — handed the file by the Ontario Provincial Police — has said it will conduct a “full assessment” before determining whether to launch an investigation. Given the public interest, we need the Mounties to investigate and be transparent about what they find.

Secondly, we need a public inquiry. We have been well-served by the investigations to date by Lysyk and Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake. Yet both had to stick to their respective mandates. In Wake’s case, he was restricted to reviewing whether Clark contravened the Member’s Integrity Act. (He found that Clark did violate the act for his failure to oversee the process to select Greenbelt lands for development.)

While the chances of a public inquiry are nil, in my view, we have to hope that the RCMP does not quail at the prospect of criminally investigating a sitting government. Past performance leaves doubts as to their fitness for the task, but it must be done.

It is our only hope to lance the boil that is festering in Ontario

I'll Be Watching You

 

Woke up this morning thinking of some lyrics from The Police:

… Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

Then I found this:

Sometimes, the surveillance state, when it is a force for good, has its advantages, eh?

Here is additional footage, if you are interested:

Unabated Fury

If the people of Hamilton are any indication, the citizen fury against Doug Ford's brazen and corrupt theft of Greenbelt lands continues unabated.

In a meeting ostensibly called to get input into the kinds of benefits the city should negotiate with provincial minions, compromise and collaboration were the last things on people's minds.

The feisty crowd booed when Premier Doug Ford’s name was mentioned and cheered when city planners said council has formally called for all affected lands, including parcels in Ancaster, Winona and Mount Hope, to be returned to the Greenbelt.

...many residents — dozens wielding signs condemning the Progressive Conservative government or calling to protect the Greenbelt — showed up urging council to abandon any negotiations related to potential development.

Michelle Silverton earned applause from the feisty crowd in urging the city to pay attention to “people power” on display Wednesday and refuse to participate in any development talks. “This is what democracy looks like,” she said.

An inflamed electorate can be a dangerous thing for those in power, especially those not easily taken in by the strange and essentially truculent tone taken by the new housing minister, Paul Calandra, who just the other day suggested that more lands may be removed, owing to a housing crisis that he clams has changed since the last government report, led by some Tory diehards like Tim Hudak, said such Greenbelt appropriation was not needed.

And the outrage is hardly limited to Hamiltonians, if letters to The Star are any indication:


Doug Ford’s fatally flawed Greenbelt plan must be stopped in its tracks, Sept. 6

I strongly agree with your editorial, but the core problem goes beyond the GTHA and it threatens human existence. Simply put, developing open space accelerates deadly global warming and pollution and shrinks food supplies. Approving such costly-to-taxpayers-to-service projects, including with expanded and new highways, will ultimately result in more suffering. That is far more criminal than backroom deals between developers and politicians. You can build new homes elsewhere, but you can’t create more oxygen, water, and arable land.


We’ve arrived at the cusp of climate disaster because we’ve ignored or deliberately buried the science. Will officials show the courage to stop the Greenbelt plan and similar ones across the country and turn toward brownfield development or will they continue to drive us to oblivion?

Brendan Read, Nanaimo, BC

There is a line in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” that may well sum up Premier Doug Ford’s handling of his Greenbelt fiasco: “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Scott Kennedy, Toronto


At a time where valuable farmland is shrinking all over the world due to climate change and overdevelopment, I’m surprised that the Ontario government would allow useful arable land to be wasted on private development. I understand that there is a desperate need for housing in Canada and elsewhere in the world, but wouldn’t it be more logical to develop areas of Ontario with less arable land? Fertile soil is a terrible thing to waste. Luxurious homes/condos just won’t put food on the table for Canadians.

Michael Pravica, Henderson, Nevada


The Star should start to fact check Premier Doug Ford’s comments about the Greenbelt as it did for former U.S. President Donald Trump, especially the egregious lie that “the people have spoken — we won’t touch the Greenbelt.” I counted at least 10 lies and mistruths in the last two weeks alone.

James Wigmore, Toronto

At the very least, this entire sordid escapade shows that voter apathy, at least in this case, is not something the Ford thieves should be counting on.

Rearranging The Deck Chairs On The Titanic

The title of this post is likely known to most. It means taking actions that will do nothing to avert disaster. And that is precisely what Doug Ford is doing as his response to the Greenbelt theft, the scandal that has a tenacious grip on his government and just won't let go.

Yesterday's resignation of Steven Clark was the second step (the first being the defenestration of Clark's chief of staff, Ryan Amato) followed by a cabinet shuffle ("See folks, an entirely new government!"), all of which I imagine will fool only the most catastrophically cognitively challenged. But it is all of a piece, part of Ford's belief in bluff salesmanship honed from the decal business he has run for years after inheriting it from his father. Such a blunt instrument will not carry the day this time, however, no matter how much he hopes against hope that we are collectively stupid.

Compounding the ineptitude of this maneuver is his choice of Paul Calandra to replace Clark as Housing Minister. Undeservedly regarded as a fixer who honed his chops at the federal level serving as the parliamentary secretary to Stephen Harper, his capacity for rambling, off-question answers to House questions is legendary.

And, like so many others in Ford's cabinet, he is of dubious moral character:

In 2005, Calandra was involved in a family dispute. In the early 2000s, he had power of attorney to manage his mother's affairs. In a lawsuit filed by his sisters, it was claimed the power of attorney had been revoked by his mother months before her death in August 2005, but Calandra had invoked it for personal gain.^[3] Calandra's sisters alleged that he had charged $8,000 to his mother's credit card without her knowledge. They further alleged that, when confronted about the charges by his sister Concetta, Calandra suggested that he should kill Concetta. In his statement of defence, Calandra said that the charges had been authorized.^[6] The sisters also alleged that Calandra took $25,000 from his mother to pay taxes, but instead wrote the cheque to himself and left the taxes unpaid. Calandra claimed in his statement of defense that the money was given to him by his mother "freely, without pretext, and of her own volition." A document filed on September 8, 2008, the first full day of the 2008 federal election campaign, said that the parties had settled the case out of court.^[6]

There are many who say that only the full restoration of the Greenbelt lands will bring resolution. I, however, am of the view that it will take much more, and the only hope of that lies in 2026, when the next election is due and a complete housecleaning can take place.

Three years seems like an interminable wait though, doesn't it?

Only A Good Start

 

What can be said about the overdue resignation of Housing Minister Steve Clark, other than that it is only a good start? His departure from cabinet (which I am sure is only temporary) is either a measure of Doug Ford's increasing desperation over the ongoing fallout of the Greenbelt theft or yet another indication of the contempt in which he holds the Ontario electorate. If he really thinks this will placate us, he is badly underestimating our fury.

Should I be reading the mood of citizens correctly, there is only one action that has any any chance of dissipating the pungent stench of corruption that envelopes the Ford government: restoration of the plundered lands. I suspect, owing to his deep ties with the developers in question, he will not do so. 

What does it say about his judgement, his moral compass and his competence that he places the profit priorities of special interests above the needs and wishes of the province? The deep betrayal of his earlier promise not to touch the Greenbelt and his consequent violation of our collective sense of democratic fairness seem not to be a part of his calculus. This tells us all we need to know about him and his government.

Happy Labour Day, everyone.

Word Without Thoughts

 

Just another short post today. There is a scene in my favourite Shakespearean play, Hamlet, in which King Claudius, who killed his brother and stole his crown, is suddenly overcome with guilt. He prays ardently in his chapel, hoping for God's forgiveness. There is but one catch: he is unwilling to give up the crown and pay the price for his treason. The prayer ends this way:

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

I couldn't help but think of that speech while watching Ford and Steve Clark try yet again to 'apologize' and admit the process was flawed, while keeping all the benefits of the crime - the selloff of Greenbelt lands to the tune set by wealthy developers like De Gasperis and Michael Rice.

While the electorate may not be God, I have a pretty good suspicion that the public display of contrition by Mr. Ford and Mr. Clark will not move voters at the next election to grant absolution.

That's all for today, another busy one.