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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

I just got this reply from Thug... naturally it did not actually answer my concerns, which were making this change without any planning in the middle of an election.

Thanks for your email about reducing the size and cost of municipal governments. I appreciate hearing your views.

I promised we would get Ontario back on track and ran on a commitment to restore accountability and trust. As part of that commitment, I promised to reduce the size and cost of government. That’s why one of our first items of business in the Ontario legislature was to introduce legislation, which became law, that would reduce the size and cost of Toronto’s municipal government and improve decision-making. We wanted to fix the current dysfunctional government and political gridlock that has crippled Toronto’s city hall. Our top goal was to replace a broken system where housing, transit and infrastructure cannot get built, with a streamlined government that can take action and get to work on the issues that really matter to the people.

Our plan would align Toronto’s ward boundaries with what we see federally and provincially. As I have always said, we have 25 MPs and 25 MPPs, and it’s working fine.

Canada’s Constitution makes it clear the province has the exclusive responsibility over municipalities, and the City of Toronto is a creation of the Ontario legislature. Virtually every single legal expert agreed that this law was completely constitutional and within the legal power of the province to enact.

I have a great deal of respect for our judicial system, but law-making power is given by the people. I believed that Justice Belobaba’s decision was deeply concerning, and the result was unacceptable to the people of Ontario — because it is the people who will be the ultimate judges of any government, and we will live up to our responsibilities to protect the people. That’s why we instructed our legal counsel to begin appeal proceedings to the Ontario Court of Appeal.

As you’re likely aware, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision and granted a stay of Justice Belobaba’s decision related to the Better Local Government Act, 2018. The court accepted our government’s position, which means that the municipal election can move forward on a 25-ward model.

We are taking a stand. If you want to make new laws in Ontario or in Canada, you first must seek a mandate from the people, and you have to be elected because it is the people who will decide what is in their best interest for this great province.

Doug Ford
Premier of Ontario
 
WislaHD said:
I doubt Druggie could put together multiple consecutive paragraphs, period.

This is the guy who could not comprehend the reports given to him by staff or understand council motions we are talking about.
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The parallels with the orange president continue?
 
PinkLucy said:
When you say northern Ontario, can you be more specific? I lived in Northern Ontario for too many years, and everyone I knew had gas. That was NE Ontario, north of North Bay. However, my family near Haliburton doesn't have access.
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Perhaps around the more populated areas. I lived in several areas of north and central Ontario - pick you definition - all in the white area of the attached map. Maybe bad luck on my part.

https://www.enbridge.com/map#map:infrastructure

I also came across the following page that includes many communities within the 'serviced areas':

https://www.uniongas.com/residential/products-services/switch-to-natural-gas/remote-locations

I am firmly in a designated serviced area of central Ontario and our last place did not have gas - heck, when we moved 6 years ago we were still on dial-up - and our daughter is in a subdivision within a 'serviced' area outside of North Bay and no gas in sight. I suspect their definition of 'serviced' is a general statement or one that is outlined in their government operating agreement. I tried to find a map that would let me drill down to individual areas I am familiar with to show actual distribution lines but no luck. I fully understand why, even in 'serviced areas', gas isn't on every concession and side road. The customer density is too low and scattered and, in the north, construction costs through rock would be off the dial.
There was a plan to have liquification nodes on existing gas lines to enable transportation to local area networks in isolated communities but the last government changed the rules that made it financially unfeasible.

I lived in Northern Ontario for not enough years.
 
Hopkins123 said:
And now yet another right-wing party trounced the Liberals, this time in leftwing utopia Quebec:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4506505/...gault-wins-majority/?utm_source=notification/
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Yeah, another minority rule situation. Best of luck. I was hoping for a more rational outcome (as in more reflective of the actual vote). They could have done worse though. The CAQ should be a decent government, though I hate minority rule governments.
Better that having elected Quebec Solidaire, in any case.

My dream of a New Brunswick outcome for Quebec has not come to pass, alas.
 
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lenaitch said:
Perhaps around the more populated areas. I lived in several areas of north and central Ontario - pick you definition - all in the white area of the attached map. Maybe bad luck on my part.

https://www.enbridge.com/map#map:infrastructure

I also came across the following page that includes many communities within the 'serviced areas':

https://www.uniongas.com/residential/products-services/switch-to-natural-gas/remote-locations

I am firmly in a designated serviced area of central Ontario and our last place did not have gas - heck, when we moved 6 years ago we were still on dial-up - and our daughter is in a subdivision within a 'serviced' area outside of North Bay and no gas in sight. .
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My parents live in North Pickering. Yes, Pickering. No gas, no water, no sewage, no internet better than DSL. In 2018. Like, you can see the towers of Scarborough from their place.
All with ridiculously high suburban property tax rates, no less! Great value for money there.
 
Videodrome said:
The PQ collapse is fine with me. I should also add that the Quebec Liberals aren't social democratic and can be seen as centre-right in some respects.
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Well, the Quebec Liberals are basically the party of the (mostly anglo) bourgeouisie and of anglos in general. Or used to be, I guess.
Now that they have a decent non-sovereigntist alternative, I guess a lot will change. It'll be interesting.
 
MTown said:
My parents live in North Pickering. Yes, Pickering. No gas, no water, no sewage, no internet better than DSL. In 2018. Like, you can see the towers of Scarborough from their place.
All with ridiculously high suburban property tax rates, no less! Great value for money there.
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When you live in the rurals, well and septic are just part of the game - you're more in charge of your own infrastructure and at least you aren't paying municipal water/sewer charges. We used to live in Uxbridge Twp., same deal. That's one thing that always struck me about the rural areas of GTA regions (we used to live in the rural part of York as well); we never seemed to reap the benefits of the regional tax levy.
 
lenaitch said:
When you live in the rurals, well and septic are just part of the game - you're more in charge of your own infrastructure and at least you aren't paying municipal water/sewer charges. We used to live in Uxbridge Twp., same deal. That's one thing that always struck me about the rural areas of GTA regions (we used to live in the rural part of York as well); we never seemed to reap the benefits of the regional tax levy.
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On their street, there are houses that have full servicing. Including postal delivery. It's all very arbitrarily cut off from one house to the next.
 
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