I'm fairly certain that readers who have stuck with me during my protracted postings on the Doug Ford corruption scandal are growing a bit weary of my apparent monomania. I don't blame you. Even I get tired of writing about a situation that seems to have no resolution, given how intractable Doug and his Slugs are proving on the Greenbelt theft.
How can any of us move forward, with the stench of corruption still so pungent? The Toronto Star has a few suggestions:
Two investigations have condemned the process to select Greenbelt lands for new housing. The controversy has led to the resignations of a senior political aide, Ryan Amato, and Steve Clark, who had been municipal affairs and housing minister. A government chastened by such findings — and which put any any priority on doing the right thing — would have immediately reversed decisions revealed to be corrupted and politically driven.
And yet, as last week ended, not only was Ford moving ahead with development on 7,400 acres of Greenbelt Lands but astonishingly, he suggested that more of this protected band of greenspace could be carved out for new housing following a review.
Let’s recall the many problems with how those lands were picked — lack of consultation, lack of regard to the environmental impacts, overwhelming negative feedback swept aside, gerrymandering of the selection criteria, and most appalling of all, the overriding influence of developers on what lands were chosen.
Despite damning reports from both tha auditor general and the integrity commissioner, the Ford band of robbers plays on, which raises questions that demand answers:n
.... why [are] Ford and his Progressive Conservatives ... so beholden [to] developers, so eager to bend to their wishes, that they’re willing to cast aside good governance and public opinion?
It more than defies explanation. It demands further investigation.
First, we need a police investigation. Ford has said he is “confident” there was no criminality. This from the politician who told the auditor general he was “unaware” of the many other problems on the file. The RCMP — handed the file by the Ontario Provincial Police — has said it will conduct a “full assessment” before determining whether to launch an investigation. Given the public interest, we need the Mounties to investigate and be transparent about what they find.
Secondly, we need a public inquiry. We have been well-served by the investigations to date by Lysyk and Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake. Yet both had to stick to their respective mandates. In Wake’s case, he was restricted to reviewing whether Clark contravened the Member’s Integrity Act. (He found that Clark did violate the act for his failure to oversee the process to Select Greenbelt Lands for development.)
While the chances of a public inquiry are nil, in my view, we have to hope that the RCMP does not quail at the prospect of criminally investigating a sitting government. Past performance leaves doubts as to their fitness for the task, but it must be done.
It is our only hope to lance the boil that is festering in Ontario
