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zoning

Wednesday November 9, 2022

November 9, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 9, 2022

Pushing back against Doug Ford’s heavy hand

October 22, 2022

Premier Doug Ford and his government backed down dramatically on their unconstitutional dealings with education unions, specifically, CUPE. Is there any chance Ford will similarly back down on his government’s decision to override the will of Hamilton city council to freeze the city’s urban boundary?

It would be nice to argue yes, but it would also be fanciful. Ford didn’t back down from the education fight for any ethical or moral reason. It wasn’t because he wanted to keep kids in schools or wanted a fair deal for Ontario’s lowest paid education workers.

Rather, he backed down entirely out of fear. He saw the public opinion polling that showed most Ontarians blamed his government for the standoff, not the union. He heard the threats of wider-spread job action in support of CUPE. Faced with a protracted labour war, recognizing that the optics don’t favour his government, Ford did a dramatic reversal.

December 11, 2018

Good for CUPE and other unions lined up in support. But the grim reality is Hamilton city council does not have a similarly big stick. Municipalities are creatures of the province, and there is no real appeal of a decision taken directly by Queen’s Park and dropped on a local government.

Nor is there much people can do when a government so blatantly reverses itself on environmental policy, which it did last Friday with the decision to allow development on Greenbelt lands.

Four years ago, Ford said: “The people have spoken. I’m going to listen to them, they don’t want me to touch the Greenbelt, we won’t touch the Greenbelt.”

May 12, 2022

That was after he was recorded telling development friends that he would free up Greenbelt land so they could build more urban sprawl. His response was that now historic promise, which now lies in pieces on the ground.

The plan is to take 15 pieces of Greenbelt land, totalling 7,400 acres, and make them available for development in places like Hamilton, Toronto, Grimsby, Pickering and Ajax. But it’s all good, says the government, because we will add another 9,400 acres back in from somewhere else.

What many people don’t yet know is that most of that replacement land, river valleys and the like, is already covered under other environmental protection policies. So it can’t be developed anyway, and the net environmental impact will be more development and on previously protected lands.

November 12, 2021

That’s the sort of sleight of hand practised by Ford and friends. And up against it, there’s a limit to what a local government, like Hamilton’s, can do.

That doesn’t mean city council shouldn’t try, only that our expectations should be tempered. Re-elected Coun. John-Paul Danko put it this way to Spec journalists: “I think we need to turn over every stone, as it were, to find ways to resist this kind of growth that is not in the best interest of our city.”

An example, cited by Danko, could be delaying servicing previously protected lands with essential infrastructure. You can’t build houses where there are no roads and sewers. Another tactic might be expediting intensification in existing neighbourhoods, suggested Environmental Defence lawyer Phil Pothen.

These and other ideas are worth exploring, and will challenge our new city council. But based on the overall reaction to the province’s stomping all over local democracy, they are worth discussing and implementing where it makes sense. The good news is that we’re hardly alone as other municipalities are also feeling betrayed and will be weighing their options.

November 13, 2020

Given that, it makes sense for municipalities of a similar mind to come together, perhaps under the auspices of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). Individually, there might be little they can do to slow down the government’s “pave paradise” mentality. But collectively, who knows?

What is the alternative? Roll over and accept the government’s ideologically-driven development agenda? Allow conservation and wetland protection to suffer as conservation authorities are neutered? Watch farmland disappear under expensive urban sprawl, which ultimately costs local taxpayers because greenfield development doesn’t pay for itself? Those options are even more unappealing. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

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 … These sped up clips are posted to encourage others to be creative, to take advantage of the technology many of us already have and to use it to produce satire. Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comforted.

https://mackaycartoons.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-1109-ONTshort.mp4

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2022-37, conservation, developer, development, Doug Ford, environment, greenbelt, housing, Ontario, real estate, zoning

Saturday October 22, 2022

October 22, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon By Graeme MacKay – The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday October 22, 2022

Ford government to introduce housing legislation immediately after the municipal election: ministry

The Ford government will introduce housing legislation the day after Ontario’s municipal election, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said Friday.

May 12, 2022

The confirmation comes after The Toronto Star reported Thursday the Ford government plans to “override” municipal zoning laws to allow more “middle missing” housing to be built across Ontario. The changes, the Star reports citing officials, will not permit housing development on the Greenbelt.

Ford previously announced his government would aim to build 1.5 million more homes in the next 10 years, which was a goal recommended by a government-commissioned housing task force report earlier this year to address soaring house prices.

Before his current term, Ford said most municipalities are “slow to approve projects,” and cited the pace of municipal construction approvals as a barrier to making housing more affordable.

The NDP, the Ford government’s official opposition, said it couldn’t comment fully before the legislation is released.

“The devil is in the details,” said housing critic Jessica Bell Friday, at a news conference.

December 10, 2020

However, the party is calling for a housing plan that includes an end to exclusionary zoning, more housing construction, clamping down on investor speculation and rent control.

“We need a comprehensive approach to make housing affordable for current Ontarians, as well as new Ontarians that are planning on calling our province home,” said Bell.

Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner called for similar measures as the NDP and also highlighted the need for investments in social, co-op, non-profit and permanent supportive housing.

“If the government fails to listen to what the experts are saying and what the Ontario Greens have been calling for, I have the whole suite of private members’ bills ready to be introduced to address this crisis in the failure of government action,” said Schreiner. (CBC)

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 …

https://mackaycartoons.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-1021-ONTshort.mp4

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2022-35, development, Doug Ford, election, governance, local, Ontario, override, planning, plow, sign, tractor, zoning

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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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