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For most of us, Christmas is one of the most treasured seasons of the year. It is a time steeped in tradition, warmth, and love. Whether you are a child, young at heart, or believe you have sat under more Christmas tree boughs than you\u2019d like to admit, we can still witness incredible wisps of magic that somehow seem to weave into reality.<\/p>\n
However, at the risk of bursting your idyllic Christmas bubble, I must warn you of a severe storm brewing in the New Year. And it is heading right at all Ontarians. The edge of the storm has been confirmed in the form of Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, <\/em>and Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act.<\/em><\/p>\n The people of Ontario value democracy. Ontarians are right to be concerned about Premier Doug Ford\u2019s latest political ploys. These acts effectively grab power from democratically elected municipal decision-makers. And since when do the principles of democracy include the ideals that decisions should be made with as little as one-third support of duly elected officials?<\/p>\n Well, it seems that is what Premier Ford believes democracy looks like. Bills 23 and 39 are ploys designed to override laws protecting the environment and Earth\u2019s natural systems \u2014 all in the name of expansion, development, power and individual economic gain.<\/p>\n The Conservative Government says they created Bills 23 and 39 to solve Ontario\u2019s housing affordability crisis. But let there be no mistake; they are also attacks on democracy that will do nothing to resolve our housing crisis or build affordable homes. Instead, the main but cloaked goal of these plans is to nicely pad the coffers of wealthy developers who are PC donors.<\/p>\n The funny thing is, I don\u2019t recall Doug Ford sharing such views or plans before the last election. Do you? He went on record saying, \u201cUnequivocally, we won\u2019t touch the Greenbelt.\u201d Mr. Ford told the Ontario Legislature, \u201cI have not touched the Greenbelt, we won\u2019t touch the Greenbelt, we won\u2019t build on the Greenbelt.\u201d<\/p>\n It is interesting to note that Premier Ford seems to apply the same upside-down view of democracy to public opinion as well. A\u00a0 recent survey by Mainstreet Poll found that 12 percent of Ontarians disapprove of the Ford Government\u2019s plans for housing and the changes to mayoral powers and 55 percent strongly disapprove<\/u><\/em>. That means 67 percent of all Ontario voters opposed his plans. Further, a total of only 26 percent <\/u><\/em>approve or strongly approve of the policies. Even so, Mr. Ford continues to forge ahead.<\/p>\n Premier Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark\u00a0say they are putting forth an olive branch by offering to swap existing greenbelt lands for other undeveloped lands. But Edward McDonnell, the CEO of the Greenbelt Foundation, said that it is not quite that simple. McDonnell said, \u201cThere\u2019s a danger with land swaps in terms of breaking up systems that are critical to the Greenbelt\u2019s success. You know, water resource systems, natural systems, agricultural systems. And what\u2019s made the Greenbelt really important to Ontario for a long time is the fact that it does protect these complete systems.\u201d<\/p>\n As readers know, the Lieutenant Governor is the King\u2019s representative here in Ontario. The role is primarily symbolic and ceremonial and is strictly a nonpartisan appointment. The Lt. Governor never offers any personal or political advice. So it is very telling that, just days ago, Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell could not help but express concerns similar to those of the people of Ontario.<\/p>\n Offering the King\u2019s good wishes for the Christmas Season from the Speaker\u2019s Chair, she said, \u201cEvery time I get invited into this chamber, I walk in with a sense of awe, but I also \u2014 and maybe it\u2019s particularly this year \u2014 feel a heavy weight: the weight of obligation, the weight of opportunity to protect and nurture something that we all hold so precious, and that\u2019s our democracy.\u201d\u00a0 In a nod to Ukraine, she said, \u201cWe see a fragility in democracies around the world, and Canada is no different. Democracy is an interesting word. It\u2019s so much more than a vote; it really is about how we choose to live our lives together in community.\u201d<\/p>\n New Democrats say that there are ways to effectively resolve Ontario\u2019s affordable housing crisis that;\u00a0 do not involve destroying our Greenbelt ecosystems; that do not forever ruin arable, food-producing farmland; and do not flip democratic principles upside down. Our plan to resolve the affordable housing crisis includes: building more affordable homes for Ontarians; bringing in more robust rent control measures; building missing middle-homes in existing<\/u> <\/em>neighbourhoods; and clamping down on speculation for profit. In addition, our plan would ensure food production continues, prevent flooding and keep our biodiversity safe.<\/p>\n We will continue fighting for real solutions to the housing crisis, for strong local democracy and for the preservation of our precious Greenbelt.<\/p>\n My wish for you and your loved ones is that this year you will put all the distractions of the world around us aside and again share the magical spirit of your youth that only Christmas with your loved ones. So, on behalf of my team and me, we wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.<\/p>\n As always, please feel free to contact my office about these issues or any other provincial matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For most of us, Christmas is one of the most treasured seasons of the year. It is a time steeped in tradition, warmth, and love. Whether you are a child, young at heart, or believe you have sat under more Christmas tree boughs than you\u2019d like to admit, we can still witness incredible wisps of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":45421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 04:13:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57837"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57840,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57837\/revisions\/57840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}