Ontario politics

Students and recent graduates are unlikely to find a tuition cut or loan relief in Wednesday’s Ontario budget, while one-time classroom funding tied to the COVID-19 pandemic is in play for a government uncomfortable with big spending.

The developers behind the Pickering, Ont., project received a conditional permit Friday night. But in the meantime, local officials called for it to be paused and the Ontario government signalled it would be willing to backtrack.

The proposed GTA West Corridor, which would run through the protected Greenbelt, would save commuters less than a minute. Peel Region turned its back on the idea Thursday, the latest in a flurry of councils to come out against it.

Three of the new ministerial zoning orders involve environmental concerns, an Observer analysis shows. “We will never stop issuing MZOs for the people of Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday.

The developers behind the controversial Durham Live project donated nearly $5,000 to the Progressive Conservatives days before the government made two moves to enable a warehouse to go on top of a protected wetland. Meanwhile, environmental groups asked a court Monday to block the developers from receiving a permit.

The contentious Durham Live project was proposed by a billionaire family keen on building a ‘mini Las Vegas.’ Before that, they were best known for a failed bid to turn the Silverdome arena in Detroit, Mich., into the home of a soccer franchise.

On Thursday, the Ford government introduced a bill that would expand its ability to use controversial land zoning orders. An internal document obtained by Canada’s National Observer shows the move is aimed at quashing a lawsuit that seeks to halt a casino development on a protected Pickering wetland.

As more Ontario communities contend with unwanted ministerial zoning orders, a playbook for how to oppose them is emerging: build a coalition, do your own research and keep the pressure high.

The NDP, Greens and Liberals questioned why the PCs would want to spend the afternoon talking about Line 5 while key questions about COVID-19 vaccine rollout remained unresolved. Though the Ford government pointed to the need to preserve petrochemical jobs, critics said vaccines are the best way to help the economy.

Under fire during question period Tuesday, the Ford government didn’t address criticism about the environmental impact of MZOs, the subject of a Canada's National Observer investigation released last week. But PC MPP Parm Gill said the government “will not apologize.” Later, the government announced renewed funding for the Greenbelt Foundation, which critics said was a distraction.

The Ford government gutted the powers of conservation authorities in 2020. The Ontario Liberals, NDP and Greens have all pledged to undo that change if they win the next election, and to revoke any permits issued under the weaker rules.

The announcement comes the day after an investigation by Canada’s National Observer showed the Ford government has been using a controversial special zoning order to give the green light to developments in environmentally sensitive areas. Several allowed projects in close proximity to the Greenbelt, which experts say can degrade the protected land.

Developers linked to projects fast-tracked by the Ford government poured donations into the the Progressive Conservatives and Ontario Proud, a third-party group that supported the Tories in the 2018 provincial election.

The Ford government has used ministerial zoning orders, or MZOs, to override environmental concerns in 14 cases, an analysis by Canada’s National Observer shows. In many cases, developers who benefitted donated thousands to the PCs and Ontario Proud.

The province’s education minister says schools in COVID-19 hot spots in and around Toronto should be planning for a return to classrooms at a yet-to-be-determined date.