By Staff
December 11th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Premier Doug Ford met with a number of municipal Mayors on Monday. Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward was not one of them.
Ford will be in Burlington on Tuesday to “celebrate the refurbishment of the Joseph Brant Hospital. It’s a photo op.
Legislation tabled before the provincial government slipped away for the holidays threatens this Escarpment farm land.
No word yet if Mayor Meed Ward is going to be able to get to the event. If she does – expect her to button hole the Premier and take him to one of the rooms with a north side view and point to the Escarpment and then tell him to leave it alone.
The Premier is pounding away at better jobs and improving the infrastructure and coming up with affordable housing – all buzz words that appeal to his political base.
The fear is that the provincial government will want to ease up the rules on what can be built in the Green Belt – which is our back yard.
There has been more than one clear sign that this is a direction this Premier wants to go in.
Premier Doug Ford with his Minister of Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark to his right talking to an unidentified municipal Mayor.
The Premier had a collection of Mayors trot into Toronto and meet with him for a one on one conversation which Ford said was to “discuss their shared priorities, such as improving transportation infrastructure, increasing the supply of housing to bring down costs and making sure that municipalities are open for business.
“Ontario has some fantastic mayors, and we have some great working relationships. Today, we strengthened those relationships,” said Ford. “We’re going to work together to get things done. We’re going to build transit and infrastructure. We’re going to make sure everyone can afford a place to call home. And we’re going to show the world that Ontario is open for business.”
In a series of meetings throughout the day, Premier Ford met with Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie; Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham; London Mayor Ed Holder; Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie; Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes; Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson; and Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
“When it comes to Ontarians’ day-to-day lives, municipalities make the most direct impact,” said Ford. “Today, I had some great conversations with Ontario mayors about how to tackle the issues that people face every day. We’re committed to working for the people and respecting the taxpayer.”
