mistake

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Ontario’s Housing Hurdles Remain Unaddressed

September 22, 2023

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s recent decision to reverse the Greenbelt development scheme can be likened to finally putting a misguided plan through a paper shredder. This long-awaited step signifies the end of a contentious chapter, where valuable time and resources were expended on a proposal that offered nothing in terms of addressing Ontario’s affordable housing crisis.

While proponents of the Greenbelt scheme argued that it would increase housing supply by replacing farmlands with residential properties, it is now clear that this plan was never genuinely about providing affordable housing. Instead, it was akin to a convoluted blueprint with no substance.

The Greenbelt reversal should prompt us to reconsider our approach to housing. Expanding housing on the outskirts of urban regions often results in larger, more expensive houses, contributing to the unaffordability problem. These sprawling developments come with significant additional commuting costs and burdens on infrastructure, which, in turn, are funded by taxpayers.

Numerous sites have already been zoned for new subdivisions, some of which are held by developers, waiting to maximize their profits. There is ample land available without sacrificing precious farmland and natural areas.

August 31, 2023

To address the housing crisis effectively, we need genuinely affordable housing for all income brackets. Unfortunately, this type of housing rarely materializes when rural land is lost to development.

While increasing supply is essential, it’s equally crucial to ensure the affordability of existing housing. Regrettably, recent changes have weakened rent control measures, leaving tenants vulnerable.

The provincial government must take an active role in shaping housing policy. Initiatives to permit multiple units on residential plots are a start, but their effectiveness remains uncertain.

Public land, owned collectively by Ontarians, presents an opportunity to create genuinely affordable housing. Historically, such land was used for this purpose, exemplified by the St. Lawrence neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.

October 22, 2022

However, nowadays, surplus public land is often sold to the highest bidder without requirements for affordable housing. Recommendations to introduce a 20% affordable housing requirement for government land sales have been overlooked.

By reversing the Greenbelt-based housing policy, Premier Ford has made a decisive move towards dismantling a plan that offered no real solutions. It’s now time for the government to develop effective housing policies that genuinely address affordability issues, drawing from existing solutions while leaving behind the flawed Greenbelt scheme in the annals of history. (AI)

 

 

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:

 

Thursday January 28, 2021

 

January 28, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 28, 2021

Canadian politicians struggle to come to grips with the global vaccine race

The global scramble to vaccinate the human race against COVID-19 is bigger than Canadian politics. But every Canadian politician no doubt understands the political and human importance of this country seeming to do well in this multinational competition. 

January 7, 2021

The result this week is anxiety and a rush to assign blame that has failed to produce easy answers to the central question of what, if anything, Canadian officials could be doing to procure more of what’s arguably the most precious commodity on Earth.

But this consternation among Canadian politicians might be obscuring a bigger question for the world: Is this really the best way to go about vaccinating 7.6 billion people against a common threat? 

The latest spasm of concern about Canada’s vaccine supply can be traced to a production facility in Puurs, Belgium, where Pfizer has been manufacturing one of the two approved vaccines for use in Canada. Pfizer has decided to retool that facility so that it can increase production. In the short-term, that means fewer doses will be available.

In response to Pfizer’s change of plans, Ontario Premier Doug Ford quickly declared that, if he were prime minister, he’d be on the phone to Pfizer’s top executive demanding the previously scheduled shipments. “I’d be up that guy’s ying-yang so far with a firecracker he wouldn’t know what hit him,” Ford said.

December 1, 2020

It stands to reason that if getting a plentiful supply of the Pfizer vaccine was as easy as getting up Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla’s ying-yang with a firecracker, nearly every leader on the planet would be doing so. But Ford got a chance to test his theory — a day later he spoke with the president of Pfizer Canada. If a firecracker was lit during that conversation, it has so far failed to change Pfizer’s plans.

In Ottawa, the consternation has been only slightly less colourful, culminating in an “emergency debate” in the House of Commons on Tuesday. 

The Conservatives argue that an ill-fated partnership between the National Research Council and China’s CanSino Biologics distracted Justin Trudeau’s government from pursuing better options — but Public Services Minister Anita Anand told the Canadian Press in December that Canada was the fourth country in the world to sign a contract with Pfizer and the first to sign with Moderna, the other major supplier of an approved vaccine. 

The New Democrats argue that the federal government should have negotiated for the right to domestically produce the currently approved vaccines — but that presumably depends in large part on the willingness of companies like Moderna and Pfizer to do so. 

November 21, 2020

A real effort to ensure Canada had domestic capacity to produce a pandemic vaccine likely would have had to have been implemented years ago.

In the meantime, even the definition of success will be up for debate.

On Monday, for instance, Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus complained that Canada was not doing as well as the Seychelles, which had delivered at least a first dose to 20.22 per cent of its population through January 25. By comparison, Canada’s rate of vaccination was 2.23 per cent.

But the tiny island nation has a population of 98,000 people (roughly the equivalent of Red Deer, Alta). In absolute terms, the number of people who had received a dose in the Seychelles was 19,889. Canada, meanwhile, had administered doses to 839,949 people.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland countered that Canada was ahead of Germany, France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. But three of those countries — Japan, Australia and New Zealand — haven’t yet begun their vaccination programs. And in two of those countries — Australia and New Zealand — COVID-19 is almost non-existent. (CBC)

 “Graeme MacKay (Hamilton Spectator) is hardly the only cartoonist decrying the uneven distribution of covid vaccines, but I like the ways he moderates the added unfairness for the Third World by noting that, even in First World nations, it’s not going all that well.”

January 28, 2021

This version with a wild error showing a 71 billion person figure in the number board went for more than a day until someone noticed and shared concern for confusion. My apologies for the mistake – Graeme MacKay