Ontario premier Doug Ford thinks he has chosen well. Telling the truth has never been a strong or notable habit of Ontario’s new housing minister. I told you the other day about his crying jag in the House of Commons, when he was a member of Steven Harper’s government. It was obvious why people did not re-elect him federally.;
It is worrisome that people might not think the same high standards apply in our provincial legislatures. Did Doug Ford consider the distraction Paul Calandra might be if he brought his fabrications to the Queen’s Park crowd? Maybe Doug Ford is just that determined to distract us from his designs for the Greenbelt.
But, do you think nobody would notice if fleets of bulldozers arrived at the Greenbelt and started to bulldoze the top soil from some of the richest farmland in Ontario? Did Doug’s call go to all his friends the developers?
And is Paul Calandra, the distraction he needs? Can this review of all Greenbelt lands really be needed at this time? Or is it just a red herring to distract the hoi pollio? Does somebody go out and check if the wetlands are still wet? Are the rich and arable lands still arable? Does the new minister intend to go out and count the trees in the Greenbelt?
And just why is this new minister of municipal affairs and housing even involved in an evaluation of the Greenbelt? Isn’t Graydon Smith, minister of natural resources and forestry the appropriate minister? Or why not have Lisa Thompson, minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs involved? And then there is David Picinni, minister of conservation, environment and parks. Would he not be the more logical minister to evaluate the Greenbelt. After all, if the ministry of housing is involved, would they not be evaluating it for housing?
After all, when you have a need to have housing for people who want to live in a city, should you not be choosing land available for housing in the cities? Starter homes do not make sense out in the countryside. You not only need fully serviced land but the closer it is to mass transportation systems the more convenient and useful it is for starter homes. Our premier needs a thinking dog to assist him.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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