Gleaner

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FORUM: Premier Ford gets an “F” (Dec. 2021)

December 17th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Premier Ford gets an “F” (Dec. 2021)

Auditor general’s report shows Ford is failing the environment

By Jessica Bell

On November 24, the auditor general released her annual report on the environment.  It reads as a dry and horrifying account of Premier Doug Ford’s assault on our natural environment, health and future. Here are the lowlights. 

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Tags: Annex · Opinion

FORUM: Premier Ford’s land use planning agenda is a big worry (May 2021)

June 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Premier Ford’s land use planning agenda is a big worry (May 2021)

The good, the bad, and the ugly of a government run amok on planning policy

By Jessica Bell

Since becoming premier, the Doug Ford government has rewritten many of the laws and regulations that decide how we build and what we build. These developer-friendly changes help Doug Ford’s donor base reap record profits, but their impact on people, the environment, democracy and our affordable housing goals is mixed. And I’m being nice here.

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Tags: Annex · Opinion

EDITORIAL: Ford attacks watershed protectors (Dec. 2020)

December 21st, 2020 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Ford attacks watershed protectors (Dec. 2020)

As the federal government adopts a bold plan to surpass its 2030 climate plan targets by dramatically hiking carbon taxes, spending billions to help Canadians retrofit homes, and provide massive incentives to carbon heavy industries to change their ways, the Ontario premier appears to be headed in the opposite direction. According to the auditor general’s recent update, this province is not even going to meet its miserly 2030 goal of reducing carbon emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels. 

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Tags: Annex · Editorial · Opinion

FORUM: Ford’s fall agenda deeply flawed (Dec. 2020)

December 21st, 2020 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford’s fall agenda deeply flawed (Dec. 2020)

Environment, evictions, schools dominate final days of Queen’s Park 2020 Session

By Jessica Bell

Queen’s Park closed for the year on December 8. Here are the legislative highlights from the final few weeks:

The Ford government continued trampling on Ontario’s natural environment. Government Bill 229 stripped the power of local conservation authorities to protect water quality and floodplains from development. 

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Tags: Annex · Opinion