I laughed out loud when I read in this morning’s Toronto Star that the Progressive Conservative government at Queen’s Park was not going to hold public hearings on its new Greenbelt protection law because Ford believes most Ontarians “don’t give two hoots about that”.  

How does he know what Ontarians think? 

We are told he gets thousands of calls to his personal cell phone every week, keeping him grounded and in touch with ordinary folks. This is "buck-a-beer" fiction.

Ford’s consigliere, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Government House Leader and Minister of Legislative Affairs, Paul Calandra, also believes listening to the public is unnecessary.

And this from the comedian who has been telling us for the past month that in opening-up the Greenbelt for development the Ford Government:

“made a policy decision that was not supported by the people of the Province of Ontario”.

Two Hoots

So where is Ford’s evidence that people don’t give two hoots about his legislation that returns land to the Greenbelt?

I can think of lots of people who would wish to give evidence to MPPs on the Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy Committee who are examining the Bill.

Evicted

What about the tenants who were evicted from their homes on the lands in the Greenbelt’s protected countryside at Bathurst in King Township? If they were forced to leave on the grounds the lands were to be developed can they now go back? What remedy, if any, do they have?

Unless the Government opens-up legislative committees to the public and outside experts – and that’s the way the system is supposed to work – Ford and Calandra won’t know what they are missing. 

Entertaining Guy

Yesterday when NDP MPP Sandy Shaw protested about the absence of the public in the one hour of committee hearings allocated to Bill 136, the Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, Calandra quipped:

“I’m a pretty entertaining guy when I get up there. I add value to the hearings. I think that the members opposite would want to hear from cabinet ministers.”

I think I’d prefer to hear from people with knowledge of the issues rather than this cast of clowns.

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Update on 23 November 2023: From the Toronto Star's Noor Javed: Doug Ford Government'd sudden reversal on boundary expansion leaves municipalities scrambling

Update on 28 November 2023: From the Toronto Star: Ford says he'll turn over phone records if the RCMP asks