cottage

Saturday September 23, 2023

Illustration by Graeme MacKay, The Toronto Star – Saturday September 23, 2023

Ford’s Greenbelt U-Turn: A Summer of Political Turmoil

September 4, 2007

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s summer season has come to a disastrous end, as he faces the aftermath of his ill-fated plans to develop parts of the province’s protected Greenbelt. Months of intense public backlash have forced him into a major reversal, resulting in the resignation of two cabinet ministers, and casting a dark shadow of uncertainty over his political future.

Analysis: ‘We’re in danger’: The inside story of Doug Ford and his unhappy MPPs’ summer of misery  

Mr. Ford, in a somber press conference held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, confessed to his mistake, acknowledging that opening up the environmentally protected Greenbelt around the Greater Toronto Area was an error in judgment. He admitted that the process for selecting the land had created allegations of wrongdoing and a loss of public trust.

“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I’m very, very sorry,” said Mr. Ford, as he faced the media alongside his Progressive Conservative caucus. “It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt. It was a mistake to establish a process that moved too fast.”

Mr. Ford, who had initially believed that developing the Greenbelt could alleviate the housing crisis, has now abandoned that approach. He stated, “We moved too quickly, and we made the wrong decision.”

Video: Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces reversal of Greenbelt plan  

November 9, 2019

The Premier’s reversal came after consultations with the public, his cabinet, and his caucus, as he recognized that voters would ultimately judge him based on his promises in the upcoming 2026 election.

The summer has been fraught with controversy for the PC government, with independent watchdog reports revealing favouritism towards certain developers in the Greenbelt land swap. Fifteen sites were removed from the protected region, with one later being returned after being put up for sale.

When questioned about potential lawsuits from developers due to the reversal, Mr. Ford remained uncertain but expressed his willingness to work with builders on housing and promised transparency regarding any associated costs.

November 1, 2019

The scandal surrounding the Greenbelt decision has not only claimed two cabinet ministers but also two top aides, including the housing policy director, Jae Truesdell. The resignation of Minister Kaleed Rasheed was prompted by incorrect information provided to the Integrity Commissioner about a 2020 trip to Las Vegas, where a prominent developer was also present.

The Premier’s backtracking follows reports from Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner and Auditor-General that revealed a biased process that favoured certain developers and could have led to an $8.3-billion windfall for them.

News:  Labour Minister Monte McNaughton leaving government  

May 29, 2019

The Greenbelt, covering 800,000 hectares, was established in 2005 by a previous Liberal government. Mr. Ford’s government had repeatedly promised not to touch the protected land, but it later backtracked, with the Premier even referring to the Greenbelt as a “scam.”

Opposition leader Marit Stiles welcomed the reversal as a victory for activists and citizens who protested the move, calling on Mr. Ford to pass a bill to restore the Greenbelt’s former boundaries.

Environmental advocates credited the reversal to a groundswell of local activism, emphasizing the impact of citizens taking their concerns to elected officials.

Opposition critics have also raised concerns about potential insider knowledge among developers regarding the Greenbelt plans. The matter has been referred to the RCMP for evaluation.

In the midst of these controversies, the Integrity Commissioner also declined to launch a full investigation into a stag-and-doe party held for Mr. Ford’s daughter, citing insufficient grounds, but raising questions about ticket sales to developers. Mr. Ford defended his old friend’s actions, asserting that he sold the tickets independently. (AI)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro. If you’re creative, give illustration a try:

 

Tuesday August 9, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 9, 2022

Ontario legislature session begins as Doug Ford’s government pushes ahead with new mandate

Young Doug Ford: The Series

Opposition parties and critics are calling on the Ontario government to provide more relief to tackle rising inflation while also expediting solutions for hospital staffing woes when the legislature returns and the provincial budget is tabled this week.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government will again table its 2022-23 budget on Tuesday, originally introduced in April and put to the test as a main plank of the PC platform during the June election.

After being re-elected, Mr. Ford said the budget would remain largely intact with the addition of a 5-per-cent increase to Ontario Disability Support Program rates that the party campaigned on, as well as a pledge to tie future annual increases to inflation. The budget promises $4-billion in additional spending for highways and roads and $10-billion for hospital infrastructure over 10 years.

August 3, 2022

But with the cost of living on the rise, inflation surging over 8 per cent and hospitals facing significant staffing shortages, critics say more measures need to be introduced to provide support for Ontarians.

Official Opposition NDP interim leader Peter Tabuns said Friday his party is calling for a new budget that increases spending for health care and education, as well as raises wages for public-sector workers. Mr. Tabuns said this would mean repealing Bill 124, introduced by the government in 2019, capping public-sector wage increases at 1 per cent for a three-year contract period. (The Globe & Mail) 

Friday March 22, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday March 22, 2019

Doug Ford didn’t breach rules in Taverner appointment, integrity commissioner says

Ontario’s integrity commissioner says Premier Doug Ford did not breach conflict of interest rules during the appointment of his friend Ron Taverner as Ontario Provincial Police commissioner.

March 8, 2019

“I found that the Premier stayed at arm’s length from the recruitment process and that he believed it to be independent,” J. David Wake said in the report released on Wednesday.

But the report on the Taverner’s selection does not fully exonerate the government. Wake said the appointment process itself was flawed and said there were “some troubling aspects of the recruitment process” — most notably communication between the then-secretary of the cabinet Steve Orsini and Dean French, Ford’s chief of staff.

“What I found most disconcerting in all the evidence were the text messages from the Secretary to Mr. French as Mr. Taverner’s progress throughout the process. There seemed to be a tacit acknowledgement by the Secretary that Mr. French was rooting for Mr. Taverner’s success,” the commissioner said.

July 30, 2015

“Anyone examining these messages would have serious doubts as to the fairness of the process to the other candidates.”

Wake’s investigation was launched after complaints from opposition politicians over Taverner’s appointment.

Taverner, 72, a Toronto police superintendent, initially did not meet the criteria listed for the position and the government admitted it changed the requirements to attract a wider range of candidates.

Earlier this month, Taverner withdrew his name from consideration for the job because of the controversy around his appointment. He said he needed to protect the integrity of front-line officers.

After he withdrew his name, the government named Thomas Carrique as the new OPP commissioner. Carrique is currently deputy chief of York Regional Police. (Source: CBC) 

 

Thursday July 30, 2015

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator -

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 30, 2015

Liz Sandals says talks with Ontario teachers will resume

Education Minister Liz Sandals says talks with Ontario’s teachers’ unions will resume following a meeting last week between Premier Kathleen Wynne, union leaders and public school board representatives.

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday May 6, 2015 Ontario elementary teachers plan job action Monday OntarioÕs 73,000 public elementary teachers will begin job action on Monday, when they are in a legal strike position. While a strike is not anticipated Ñ local union districts have been given details about a work-to-rule Ñ it remains one of the options available, says Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary TeachersÕ Federation of Ontario. In a statement released Tuesday morning, ETFO said its members would be taking unspecified Òcentral strike actionÓ in 32 school boards across the province Monday. According to an ETFO bulletin obtained by the Star, titled ÒStrike Protocol: Work-to-Rule Ñ Phase 1,Ó and sent out to its Toronto members late Monday night, teachers will not take part in any EQAO (standardized testing), write report cards, fill in for absent principals or Òconduct any reading, writing or mathematics assessments other than those that the teacher deems necessary to report on student progress.Ó Hammond has told the Star that the recent offer on the table from the government and the school boardsÕ association was ÒoffensiveÓ and contained concessions the union would not consider. He said if the concessions remained, the union would be Òlooking at all the options.Ó ÒWe are hoping on, or prior to, May 10 that we get substantial movement at the table and we wonÕt have to move in a direction nobody wants to move in,Ó he has previously said. While talks have continued with the help of a mediator, they recently broke off. A union spokesperson said Monday that ÒETFO is eagerly awaiting a call from the government that it, and the Ontario Public School BoardsÕ Association, are ready to engage in meaningful and substantive bargaining.Ó ETFO is the countryÕs largest teacher union. A strike or job action would affect more than 817,000 elementary school students across the province. (Source: Toronto Star) http://www.thestar.co

Wednesday May 6, 2015

Sandals calls it a very positive meeting and says the unions “are committed” to getting back to the table in August and reaching new contracts before classes begin Sept. 8.

Representatives from four public teacher unions flew to Toronto from Ottawa for a morning to meeting with Wynne and Sandals. All sides described the meeting as generally positive but it wrapped up in less than an hour with no firm dates set for new bargaining sessions.

“It was a cordial discussion,” said Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario President Sam Hammond. He added that “we need to have confirmed dates,” for new talks and said “we have some issues that we need to have taken off the table.”

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday May 26, 2015 Wynne Government imposes back-to-work legislation on striking teachers The Ontario government will be tabling back-to-work legislation today for striking secondary school teachers, but since New Democrats won't be supporting it, students will be kept from class a few more days. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says her party won't support the Liberals' motion for unanimous consent to get it passed today, but the government could use its majority to pass it by Thursday. That would mean more than 70,000 students in the Sudbury-area Rainbow District, Peel Region and Durham Region, who have been kept from class for up to five weeks, would return to school on Friday at the earliest. The back-to-work legislation is being introduced after the Education Relations Commission ruled that strikes by high school teachers in three boards are putting students' school years in jeopardy. Education Minister Liz Sandals says she respects the collective bargaining process, but it's important to get kids back to class to complete their school years. While the striking secondary teachers in three boards are set to be legislated back to work, their central union said this weekend that talks with the provincial government have reached an impasse. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation plans to apply to the provincial labour ministry for conciliation Ñ the teachers must first use the government third-party assistance to try to reach a contract before they can take provincewide strike action. The Ontario Labour Relations Board had also been set to rule on whether the three local strikes were illegal. This is the first round of negotiations under a new bargaining system the Liberal government introduced last year, separating the process into local and central talks. The school boards argued that the three local strikes were really on central issues such as class sizes. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Tuesday May 26, 2015

Paul Elliott, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said he “didn’t hear anything that’s changed anyone’s opinion or position,” during Friday’s meeting but agrees it was a positive step to hear from the premier.

Sandals also spoke of a positive tone following the 40-minute meeting.

“This wasn’t about negotiating, it was about how we move forward,” she told reporters. “We need to be getting back to the bargaining table during August.”

No talks are currently scheduled for the three largest teachers unions and English-language school boards.

The government has said there is no new money for teacher compensation. That, along with teachers’ demands for limits on class sizes, are among the major sticking point in negotiations. (Source: CBC News)

2015-08-03_Star