By Pepper Parr
August 29th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
The drip, drip, drip is becoming a gusher of public outrage causing Premier Ford to back track and begin looking for a way out of the mess his Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing created.
Leader of the Opposition Marit Stiles in a soybean field inside the Greenbelt
Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition at Queen’s Park said: “Ford’s Conservatives are changing their tune simply because they got caught. Clearly, this is a government that has one set of rules for those with close connections to their party and a different set for everyone else. None of this is about housing. This government needs to recall the Legislature so we can restore all of these lands to Greenbelt protection now, and Ford needs to fire Minister Clark from Cabinet.”
Ford expressed concern earlier today that a company called Buena Vista Development is trying to sell 765 and 775 Kingston Road East in Ajax.
Those are two of the “sites that were selected as part of the land swap to build at least 50,000 new homes and grow the size of the Greenbelt,” the premier said in a statement.
What do you make of that body language. Minister of Municipal Affairs Steve Clark communicating with Premier Ford.
“At no point was the intention to sell disclosed to the government’s facilitator during active and ongoing discussions.
“This behaviour goes against everything that our government is doing to bring home ownership into reach for more people.
“In response, our government is exploring every option available to us, including immediately starting the process to put these sites back into the Greenbelt.”
In firing a salvo at the Ajax landowner, Ford is sending a signal to developers who have had their Greenbelt land rezoned.
“To the other property owners, you’re on notice: if you don’t meet our government’s conditions, including showing real progress by year end with a plan to get shovels in the ground by 2025, your land will go back into the Greenbelt,” the premier said Tuesday.
Officials from Buena Vista Development were not immediately available for comment.
CBC has reported the land at 775 Kingston Road East was purchased in June 2018 for $15.8 million and that the company’s main officer is Yuchen Lu, who resides in Fuyang, China.
Ford is doing his best to make it clear that if the land taken out of the Greenbelt was not developed – he said he wanted to see shovels in the ground by 2025 – then the land will revert to being part of the Greenbelt.
From a purely legal point that might be easier said than done – but that is some distance down the road. Road now the Premier is working 24/7 to save his government.
Public pressure works.
