By Staff
January 11th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Have you noticed how the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star get their investigative reporters on to an issue and dig, dig, dig.
We are seeing more of this type of news reporting.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has amended the Greenbelt Area boundary regulation to add 13 new Urban River Valley areas and lands in the Paris Galt Moraine in Wellington County and remove 15 areas of land. Add lands in the Paris Galt Moraine in Wellington County to the Greenbelt Area Remove or redesignate 15 areas of land totaling approximately 7,400 acres from the edge of the Greenbelt Area that are serviced or adjacent to services and will be used to build housing in the near term. The investigative reporters want to learn more about who bought the lands that are being taken out of the Greenbelt and how much did they know before they bought ?
The Star recently said: We covered Doug Ford and his government’s policies and their effects on the province since he was elected premier in 2018. Now, developers are eyeing the Greenbelt — and a Star/Narwhal investigation has revealed that many are connected to Ford’s Progressive Conservative Party.
That investigation has the OPP Anti Rackets Squad meeting with people who filed complaints. No investigation – yet. The police are sniffing around and following up on what the newspapers started.
Narwhal is an online operation (just like the Gazette) that started in British Columbia and recently opened an office in Toronto.
The Globe and Mail tends to focus on national news stories and does superb work on what the federal government is up to.
The Gazette focus’s on Burlington – where we are currently watching the approach City Council is taking on the budget that will determine the 2023-24 tax rate.
Media matters.
How much?
The majority of Ontario main stream media and local papers are unashamedly receiving government subsidies to stay afloat because disenchanted readers have lost faith in their ability to provide truthful news without bias and no longer subscribe to their overt misinformation campaigns. Most community papers like the Burlington Post are now under the control of a huge media conglomerate like Metroland whose ‘progressive’ board of directors dictate news content. In short, the freedom of the press is no longer free and journalism as a neutral watch dog of our democracy is dead. Instead of holding the government accountable to the people, these centrally controlled state propaganda machines now try to hold the people accountable to the government. Believe nothing they say. The Gazette seems to be an exception – for now.
Editor’s note: We have been doing what we do for 11 years. Air Park got stopped, citizens got news no one else was prepared to give them. Stuff your cynicism and wish us God Speed while we continue.
Seems like any government that gets in, there is always some level of shadiness. However, the expansion to develop was always a given. Many of us can look at the numbers and what’s sustainable…developing into the protected lands was going to happen regardless of what provincial government was elected. Did this province tip off developers to buy available for sale land…maybe, but it was likely already on the (developer) planning table. On OPP investigating…I doubt the policing institution is going to be rocking any boat with the province who pays them.