Re: Ford’s Greenbelt
To the Editor,
After hearing the Greenbelt lands need not have been touched to expand housing in Ontario from Attorney General Bonnie Lysyk, and that only a “few developers” were given the opportunity to purchase these lands, it makes me wonder what other developers are being given access to our province and its lands and whom has what to gain from it.
Whether Greenbelt, agriculture lands, or industrial lands: do people need to live in remote areas that aren’t working there and have no infrastructure? Builds for the sake of carbon emissions due to commute times from country living?
Responsible development is something our citizens need to advocate for.
What did Jerry Maguire say??
Regards and please be aware,
Tommy Peacock,
Caledonia
Re: What a surprise
To the Editor,
Before the 2022 Provincial election Premier Doug Ford was recorded stating he was going to take land out of the Greenbelt for his land developer friends – who were some of the biggest groups to contribute to his and his fellow Conservative members’ war chest for election uses. During the 2022 campaign he walks this statement back and states he will not remove any land from the Greenbelt.
Well then, he has a Stag and Doe for his daughter. Surprise, these same developers are present. Next surprise is these same developers buy land in the Greenbelt, even though the premier has not formerly stated he would open up the Greenbelt for development.
Then the next surprise is Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff sits down at a dinner with this same group of developers where they hand him their plans for developing the land they bought from out of the Greenbelt. Where according to The Spectator states these same developers stand to make an $8.3 billion profit.
So the next surprise is Premier Ford removes these same parcels of land out of the Greenbelt. Wow, what a surprise that was. Nobody saw that coming! Right?
And for the people who think the premier is stupid should keep in mind how he won the last election and also keep in mind he has held back billions from the transfer payments the Federal government gave the Province to help deal with Covid. Well, the surprises will keep on coming. You know he will spend this money, in particular in Conservative held ridings, to help his supporters to give them a reason to keep voting the way they always do. The way their parents voted. Their grandparents voted. Because that is what they do. If you think this is wrong, look at the last election and see how the Conservative party did not really run a campaign. The candidates were told not to even take part in candidate debates. They just relied on that core of Conservative people voting as they always do.
And here is the final surprise, this clear case of corruption and abuse of authority. When Premier Doug Ford was asked point blank Wednesday whether the ends justify the means, Ford’s response was, “Yes they do!”
So my question is: when as a whole will society say enough? When will we say we want our democracy back? When are we going to, as a group, say enough to the 1% elites and our corrupt politicians – that we want and demand our democratically elected government back? Not one that the 1% have bought and paid for.
I was so proud of Haldimand-Norfolk when we voted in the 2022 election for one of the only ever Independent Members of the Provincial Government for Ontario. Can the rest of Ontario follow suit?
Patrick Cook,
Hagersville
