3 days Ago
, Oct. 30 What kind of a clown act is this — sending us back our own money intended for our welfare? Thanks, but no thanks. That $3 billion is our tax money.
That money would go a long way in areas in desperate need of funding. Lots of ink has been spilled over the years trying to understand Premier Doug Ford’s ideology as right-wing, populist, or simply in it for the benefit of his friends. I’d venture into that discussion by adding that the former Toronto City Councillor doesn’t understand cities or what makes them great.
When Doug Ford blames cyclists for congestion, he reveals his ignorance of just how much less space a bicycle takes up compared to a car. The promise of the city is that, by sharing space with one another, we can have more while consuming less. We pool our commutes together on public transit and in bike lanes, and in doing so save money and time, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
While paying lip service to building more homes, he cannot wrap his head around this principle of sharing space with your neighbours. The premier referred to gentle density as “four-storey towers,” claiming they would destroy “tight-knit communities.” But there is more to a community than white picket fences and big garages.
How can you love your neighbour, and insist that they stay as far away from you as possible? Doug Ford has too often meddled in the affairs of municipalities only to insist that they remain stagnant and under-represented. Now, after years of letting the housing crisis spiral out of control, he seems intent on invoking the notwithstanding clause to criminalize homelessness rather than build homes. Those of us who love our cities must punish him electorally for his anti-urban ideology.
, Oct. 17 In this context, to “fast track” sounds like to “disregard” any environmental impact assessment or any other important research that needs to be done before bulldozing our Greenbelt. If Premier Doug Ford genuinely cared about our Greenbelt, he would do his utmost to protect it and would do everything possible to determine what risks/hazards are involved with bulldozing it.
(There’s already an investigation being conducted by the RCMP of Ford’s treatment of our precious Greenbelt.) This fast tracking of the proposed highway is bad news because it will destroy thousands of acres of farmland and hundreds of acres of our Greenbelt (wetlands, watersheds and wildlife habitat). There is a worthy alternative to gouging the Greenbelt.
Highway 407 is located only 15 km to the south of the planned route and follows the same east-west path with intersections at Highway 401 at Milton and Highway 400. The 407 is underused, could accommodate a lot of trucks (not a lot use it now because of the extreme toll costs). We could save billions of dollars by opening the 407 toll free to trucks and it would make traffic better on the 401 too.
These billions could be better spent on important things like our health care. A wise man once said, “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” Interesting, then, that Premier Doug Ford (head tax collector) is so against them that he prefers to hand out $200 pre-election bribes instead of using that money, and the rest of the taxes we pay, to actually improve Ontario and the lives of its residents with shorter wait times in our hospital emergency rooms, more teachers in our classrooms, more care in our long-term-care homes, and adequate social supports to eliminate the need for food banks and to actually deal with chronic homelessness and substance abuse.
Rarely has a government shown such a callous disregard for its citizens. If Ford’s good governance had resulted in a budget surplus, or even a balanced budget, I could understand his desire to celebrate. But Ontario is still struggling with a massive deficit, at a time when the economy is limping along, at best.
The Progressive Conservatives used to be the party of fiscal responsibility and good financial management. Now it’s the party of silly tunnels, illegible licence plates, private spas on public parkland, beer in corner stores ..
. and $200 “vote for me” cheques..
