The Erosion Of Local Democracy

The dog days of summer often offer opportunities for unscrupulous governments to slip something by the people. With the focus more on partying than politics, unpopular measures can be enacted with minimal consequences, at least that was likely the thought of Doug Ford and his cronies here in Ontario.

After his retreat from the Greenbelt incursions he had promised to his developer friends, the premier has to find ways to atone for his betrayal. One part of his penance is to remove impediments to their schemes.

A provincial law change that curtailed third-party groups’ ability to appeal development decisions has left environmental and ratepayer groups saying they’ve been silenced in a move that puts developer interests ahead of citizen concerns.

Ontario residents can no longer appeal development decisions at the Ontario Land Tribunal — a quasi-judicial body designed to adjudicate planning and other land disputes — after the Doug Ford government introduced legislation that removes the ability of third-parties such as ratepayer groups or environmental groups to do so.

The province says the changes to the third-party appeal rights in the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act (Bill 185), which passed in June, will “help communities get quicker planning approvals for housing projects.”

But this arrack on citizens' rights, contrary to the plan, has not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by these letters from concerned residents of this province. 

With my community, I was part of an Ontario Joint Board hearing (now known as the Ontario Land Tribunal) that successfully protected source water and endangered species from a gravel mining proposal on Mount Nemo in Burlington, Ont. We hired independent experts to make our case, and the evidence we presented was instrumental in the board’s decision to deny the quarry. As citizens, we had real stake in the outcome. Our well water, air quality and surrounding environment were at risk. Removing a community’s right to participate threatens to remove decision maker’s access to the on-the-ground knowledge and concerns of locals. Developers have the right to appeal local government decisions to the OLT. Taking away citizen’s equal rights encourages poorer planning and riskier development. The Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act (Bill 185) bolsters corporate dominance, and renders the democratic voice of the people mute.

Sarah Harmer, Burlington

Reporter Noor Javed’s excellent article about new rules barring OLT third party appeals illustrates how our democratic rights are being trampled. The anger is growing daily in this region about Premier Doug Ford’s hypocritical statements about “governing for the people” as precious farmland and natural spaces are being squandered and lost. Our community of Ball’s Bridge and Little Lakes Road in southwestern Ontario has invested years of time and thousands of dollars to try to protect a natural area well loved by the public. We have been abandoned by our local council and have now been abandoned by the provincial government.

Rebecca Garrett, Goderich, Ont.

Bill 185 denies citizens groups from speaking up to protect our precious places. Is this this fair? Is this democratic? Absolutely not. We must fight for our right to be heard!

Wendy Hoernig, Goderich, Ont.

Since the enactment of Bill 185, the right of citizen groups to influence, challenge or contest planning decisions pushed by developers has been stripped away. This egregious action continues to erode our civil society and our democratic process. This seems to be the unspoken Tory agenda. We are “Open for Business” but only for those who are developers. This is hardly “a government for the people.” The worst kind of hypocrisy is to claim citizens are holding up development through appeals when the data shows that many of the appeals recorded over the past decade are by the developers themselves. Shame on the Ontario Conservatives for the their attack on democracy. Shame on MPP Jill Dunlop for supporting this. Bill 185 must be repealed.

David Jeffery, Tiny, Ont.

A somnolent citizenry is something that governments who are "for the people" in name only count on. One hopes that those who refuse to sleep are able to get some much needed traction here.

 

The Optics Of Optimism

While I realize that the U.S. is not our country, I am nothing less than rivetted by its current politics. Obviously, whatever happens in that country has an outsized effect on the rest of the world. It is therefore so refreshing and hopeful that the Democrats seem to have found a winning combination in Kamala Harrris and Tim Walz. 

While it would be unforgivably naive to  place an unconditional bet on their unqualified virtue, they at least have the advantage of being a new combination, one that stands in sharp contrast to the mad meanderings of Don Trump and the viciousness of J.D. Vance. And the latest polling seems to suggest that there is a huge appetite both for change and optimism.

Vice President Kamala Harris leads former President Donald J. Trump in three crucial battleground states, according to new surveys by The New York Times and Siena College, the latest indication of a dramatic reversal in standing for Democrats after President Biden’s departure from the presidential race remade it.

Ms. Harris is ahead of Mr. Trump by four percentage points in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, 50 percent to 46 percent among likely voters in each state. The surveys were conducted from Aug. 5 to 9.

The polls, some of the first high-quality surveys in those states since Mr. Biden announced he would no longer run for re-election, come after nearly a year of surveys that showed either a tied contest or a slight lead for Mr. Trump over Mr. Biden.

While policy is an important, even vital, component of any platform, there is something else at work here as well: presentation. In her speech to UAW members, Harris clearly delineates, with a quiet passion, the stark differences between her orientation and that of the increasingly desperate and deranged Trump. I. would suggest that you start at about the 2:18 mark to get a flavour of her message.

A message of unity, hope and concern for the collective well-being of people is much needed in the fractured America that exists today. Let's hope its citizens heed that message.

Which Angel Will It Be?

I awoke from a dream this morning in which it seemed I was being registered in a concentration camp, filled with forms and regulations that had to be filled out and followed. As unpleasant as it was, the dream was mercifully short.

With the dream in mind, I began thinking about how easy it is to debase and dehumanize people. History and contemporary events readily bear that out. But what about the opposite? How difficult is it to ennoble people, raise their hopes for a better day, and, in general, appeal to the better angels of their nature?

At times it seems easy. I recall a day in 2015 where I felt inspiration and hope after the long dark night of Stephen Harper's rule. It was the day that Trudeau and his team walked to Rideau Hall to be sworn in with the promise of different and better things ahead.. But subsequent events, beginning with the Prime Minister breaking his vow on electoral reform and the reappearance of traditional Liberal arrogance, frayed those strands of hope over subsequent years.

Americans, it seems to me, are now at a similar juncture. After years of relentless denigration, debasement and violent incitements engineered by Don Trump, they now have an opportunity to embrace a new path which, one hopes, will prove less illusionary than the Trudeau one. That path is the one being laid out by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

And judging by reports, there is a real hunger for their message.

Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, continued their swing-state tour with rallies in rural Wisconsin and Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, that the campaign said brought out more than 10,000 people each.

 In Eau Claire, a north-western Wisconsin city less than two hours from Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota, the rally drew attendees from both states – and 12,000 people in total, the campaign said. The Detroit rally on Wednesday night drew 15,000 supporters in another crucial swing state, the Harris campaign told reporters. Walz called it “the largest rally of the campaign” so far.

The big Detroit crowd repeatedly chanted: “We’re not going back,” Democrats’ counter to Trump’s anti-abortion politics and “make America great again” slogan.

 Attendees in Wisconsin said they were enthusiastic about seeing a Harris and Walz ticket. “I’m elated,” said Lori Schlecht, a teacher from Minnesota who said she was excited about Walz given his background in public education – Walz was a public school teacher before he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006. “Minnesota is blessed to have him, and I’m glad to see him at the national level. He is authentic and real – he’ll get shit done.”

When given the opportunity, I think people crave authenticity, not the faux kind peddled by Trump and his people who rely, not on inspiring people, but provoking the worst angels of their nature. And judging by letters to the editor, Canadians are feeling the same hope:

In a plot twist worthy of a political thriller, Americans have just been given a chance to save themselves by choosing to do what’s right and no longer defaulting to the lesser evil. For the first time in a long time, American democracy appears to be working. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a previous social studies teacher, as her Democratic running mate. Consider the symbolism: a woman of colour and a teacher teaming up to challenge the re-election of Donald Trump, the reigning champion of insurrectionist chaos.

Walz brings to the table an educated notion that co-operation, not competition, is humanity’s evolutionary secret. This represents the clash of real humanistic values versus the phoney, weird MAGA values of Trumpist populists. This isn’t just a choice between red and blue. It’s a choice between reality and reality TV.  Let the “first Walz” for re-establishing credibility and decency in American democracy begin.

Tony D’Andrea, Toronto 

... In Walz, Harris has found a real mensch, a man who is as easy to work with as Donald Trump is the opposite. Walz can out-folksy the populism types, and he’s the real deal when it comes to wanting to make life better for working-class and poor families. 

Ron Charach, Toronto

We all await with bated breath which version of human nature the American people will choose. 

Just Keep Talking - Part Two

As I said in a previous post,  all the Republicans need to do is keep on talking to ensure that Democrats have the greatest chance to retain the White House. Below is a prime example of what I am taking about:

@RonFilipkowski

Jon Voight says Obama is committing a “war crime” by controlling “cackling hyena” Harris, the Left wants to steal your children & make them all trans, Trump is the messiah, & everyone who votes for Harris will commit the worst crime in human history and God will punish us. Weird.

As the saying goes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

We Give Value To The Worthless

I am currently reading a book by Michael Lewis called Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of A New Tycoon. A story about Samuel Bankman Fried and his FTX crypto-exchange, it is a fascinating tale of how we humans give value to things that are essentially worthless, while turning our backs on the things that should matter to all of humanity. As you probably know, it does not end well for Bankman-Fried and his too-trusting investors, just as it is not ending well for the rest of us as the world collapses around us.

What is the connection between crypto and climate collapse? The fact is that mining bitcoins (I really can't explain it beyond this) requires tremendous amounts of energy, and as we know, energy-production in most of the world is carbon-intensive. But what is a little terra degradation compared to the possibility of massive profits, eh?

Fortunately, it does matter.to some. The Globe and Mail's editorial board writes about

a power-hungry source with little discernible societal value: so-calling mining for cryptocurrencies.

Provinces such as Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick have limited or flat-out said no to crypto. British Columbia has joined them. In late 2022, B.C. paused new grid connections for crypto, facing power requests of greater than two Site C dams (a $16-billion, 1,100-megawatt project). This spring, B.C. passed legislation that allows the government to prohibit such connections.

However, that massive power requirement is only part of something even larger:

Crypto sucks up a lot of power – but so do data centres (think of Netflix and all your pictures in the cloud). Now, think of AI. Data centres and AI make a lot more sense as broadly worthwhile for the economy, but the reality is their power demands are dizzying. At extremes, such as in Ireland, data centres in 2022 consumed almost one-fifth of the country’s power. That’s in part because of companies such as Google. AI will only intensify this. The investment bank Goldman Sachs in May predicted data centres and AI could account for 3.5 per cent of worldwide power usage by 2030, up from about 1.5 per cent today. 

 The list of demands goes on. Turn attention to green hydrogen, a clean fuel, yet its potential power needs are extreme. A proposed $2-billion project in B.C. would require almost all of the Site C dam’s output. This puts the choices governments will have to make in sharp relief. In this case, it seems to make little sense, given competing demands.

Liquefied natural gas is another challenge. B.C. wants to slash emissions from LNG, and the upstart Cedar LNG project will be electrified, requiring power equivalent to about one-sixth of Site C’s output. That’s modest compared with Royal Dutch Shell’s LNG Canada near Kitimat, B.C., whose potential expansion would double the project’s export volume but would also suck up well more than half the power of Site C, along with $3-billion of new transmission.

As Canadians and as citizens of the world, we all have a responsibility for this ever-warming planet, and while there are solutions (solar and wind power are now cheaper than fossil fuels), we seem reluctant to make the expenditures necessary to wean ourselves off traditional sources of power.

That's human nature in a nutshell: shortsighted and self-centred, we care only about the immediate future, not the long-term consequences of our folly.

 

Nix The Fix

I have written previously about Pierre Poilievre's fondness for aphorisms, phrases that encapsulate a simplistic solution to complex problems. While reading this morning's paper, I came upon his 'solution' to our opioid crisis: forced rehabilitation- another aphoristic fix that, at least in Ontario, has its doubters.

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones is taking issue with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s talk of forcing people with drug addictions into treatment as the country grapples with a deadly opioid crisis.

In another sign of tensions between the provincial and federal Tories, with polls suggesting Poilievre is poised to become Canada’s next prime minister, Jones said mandatory rehab is the wrong path.

“I have concerns that involuntary treatment would not lead to the outcomes that we want,” Jones said Wednesday at Mount Sinai Hospital. 

“But having said that, when we see the opportunity and the need for intervention, and people are willing to take on those treatments to make a difference, that’s when we can show them our government is committed.”

Already worried enough about a Poilievre victory in the next federal election that would mean nothing good for the provinces (reduced transfer payments, ending the Trudeau strategy on EV production, etc.), Doug Ford is said to be contemplating an early Ontario election to get ahead of the fiscal bloodshed that will ensue with a Poilievre victory. It is therefore crucial for him to distinguish his government from the federal one-in-waiting, without alienating his right-wing supporters.

Jones said the province, where Premier Doug Ford has expressed reservations about safe consumption sites, has a new addictions plan coming in which “treatment is a very large portion.”

No further details were made available, but it is clear Ford sees the danger in too close an alignment with the kinds of draconian measures being proposed by Poilievre. But he will also have to face the fact that even more than his own government, Poilievre is very good at dumbing down important public policy issues to mere soundbites. Indeed, I would not be surprised if, along with his other facile pronouncements like axe the tax,  spike the hike, jail, not bail and hard time for hard crime, PP's braintrust comes up with something like nix the fix!

Has a bit of a ring, doncha think?

Just Keep Talking

While there is much discussion in the media as to whether Kamala Harris can sustain her momentum after the "honeymoon phase" is over, one element that will undoubtedly help is for unhinged Republicans to keep up their ridiculous rhetoric. The more 'trash' they talk, the more obvious will be their unfitness to govern, something that should have been obvious years ago. 

Here is just one example of what I am talking about. I double-checked that this video was not part of an elaborate satire, and it is not. Apparently there is a show on Fox called The Five, hosted by Jesse Watters, who offers a weird view of those who would vote for Harris.