Ford’s Greenbelt promise falls by the wayside

During the provincial election campaign, Doug Ford was caught on video telling a room full of development supporters that he would hand over a “big chunk” of Ontario’s Greenbelt to those same developers.

The public reaction was fast and furious, and Ford had to backtrack quickly, finally promising: “The people have spoken — we won’t touch the Greenbelt.”

Could it be that when he makes this sort of promise, he actually means the opposite? As in, we won’t cancel the basic income pilot project, and then doing it? As in promising to invest in mental health services and then doing the opposite?

Given this track record, we shouldn’t be surprised that Ford has apparently reversed again and is trying to let developers into the Greenbelt. He’s using the back door this time. In an omnibus bill about cutting red tape, Bill 66 — Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, the government plans to make it easier for municipalities to apply for exemptions to a number of protection measures under the guise of speeding up approvals for building offices and factories.

The measures in question include the Clean Water Act, the Great Lakes Protection Act and the Greenbelt Act. So if your municipality supports building a factory on Greenbelt land, it just has to apply to the province with assurances the development will create jobs and generate revenue if the protective measures impeding it can be set aside.

The government insists this doesn’t amount to endangering the Greenbelt, that its promise to protect it is still in force. But if that’s the case, why is the act specifically mentioned, along with other important environmental protection measures?

We’re not just talking about the Greenbelt here, either. If a municipality wants to waive aspects of water or Great Lakes protection legislation, it will apply to the province to do so.

Don’t worry, the government says. Any deviations from protective measures will still require provincial approval. That sort of “we’ve got your back” rhetoric might be comforting except that this is the same political party partially responsible for the Walkerton disaster. And they want to be trusted to make decisions that won’t jeopardize public safety and the environment?

If there’s a bright spot here, it is this: Municipalities have to make the application to start with. On one hand, this isn’t comforting. Local governments are under the most financial pressure to keep taxes down and generate revenue. But on the other hand, they’re more accessible to citizens and therefore likely to hear and act on grassroots pressure. That means if you feel strongly about not allowing Ontario’s 7,200-square-kilometre Greenbelt to become Swiss cheese with pockets of development, speak out. The same holds true with Great Lakes and groundwater protection. Let your local councillors know how you feel. Insist that any time exceptions are being considered meaningful public consultation and is part of the process.

Better yet, tell your local government to follow the example being set by Burlington, where new Mayor Marianne Meed Ward is already saying her council will stand up for the Greenbelt and not seek exemptions. That will send a clear message to the province, which might even listen.

If your municipality supports building a factory on Greenbelt land, it just has to apply to the province with assurances the development will create jobs and generate revenue if the protective measures impeding it can be set aside.