Doug Ford is committing infrastructure suicide in Ontario

As a resident of Ontario, I share the disbelief and outrage of many of my neighbours at Doug Ford’s ham-fisted style of governing. How this guy ever won with a majority is proof positive of the effects of low voter turnout. We have no one but ourselves to blame.

That said, the latest – and im my view, unforgivable – governance blunder is this Bill 23 “More Homes Built Faster” Act that Doug Ford is ramming down the throats of Ontarians.

At the top of the list of lunacy is this evident fact that Doug Ford actually advised the developers in Ontario who are some ofhis biggest campaign donors that he would be removing land from the Greenbelt and rezoning it for development. The developers – notorious for their utter disdain for nature and conservation – of course starting snapping up the land.

This, besides being a flagrant violation of the Ontario Conflict of Interest Act, could be prosecutable under the criminal code. It certainly demands police and Integrity Commission investigation – and fast. That in and of itself should be enough to cause the cancellation of the removal of the land from the Greenbelt.

But then of course, there is the ecological protection aspect.

Now I know developers as a species are more or less incapable of considering future generations, but let’s help them out here.

1. As is widely published, spoken about, and even taught in schools, the preservation of waterways and natural habitat is directly correlated to the quality of drinking water, air and life itself. Removing land from the Greenbelt is to directly reduce these qualitative aspects for current and future generations.
2. The removal of farmland in a province whose population is growing rapidly is to diminish the food security of all Ontarians. The correct economic approach should be to protect all arable land from development until food self-sufficiency is reached. Immigration should be regulated by food production capabilities – not by building more homes faster.
3. By arbitrarily removing land from the Greenbelt, the Ford government single-handedly causes the speculative price of all rural real estate in Ontario to spike beyond its already inaccessible heights for young would-be home owners. Developers will now circle round and drool over any patch of farmland – Greenbelt or not – knowing that Doug Ford is corrupt and dumb enough to be coerced into removing it from any protections.

Doug Ford is apparently ignorant of the fact that farmland is infrastructure, and arguably far more important than highways and condos. If we stand idly by and let this historic travesty of democracy and law pass, then we all become complicit in the reduced quality of life our children have to look forward to.

Is that something we can wear to our graves? I can’t.

What Can We Do to Stop Them?

The Conflict of Interest Rules in Ontario that govern the conduct of elected officials is outlined in Ontario Regulation 381/07. The regulation is administered by the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario.

I wrote an email to them as follows: (Feel free to cut and paste and send your own version to [email protected])

Original article: Doug Ford is committing infrastructure suicide in Ontario

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