NEW: What's really behind the Ford government's push to pave protected wetland in Pickering.
•Rival developers are vying to build the largest retail warehouse in Canada.
•$100s of millions are at stake. •Sources say Amazon is involved. #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
UPDATE: I received an email from Amazon this morning. "We are not commenting on our future roadmap, including specific operations plans," said Dave Bauer, head of communications for @Amazon Canada operations. #onpoli
Amazon Canada added in a subsequent statement by email: "We take environmental issues very seriously and will discuss how to support the environment on any lease that we sign." #onpoli
Next thing to watch on this story: the Ford government has ordered @TRCA_HQ to issue a development permit for the Pickering wetland by Friday. The conservation authority is doing so, but with a lengthy list of conditions. #onpoli trca.ca/news/response-…
BREAKING: Premier Doug Ford accuses Indigenous NDP MPP @solmamakwa of vaccine queue-jumping.
"The member flew in to get his vaccine. Kind of jumping the line. I talked to a few chiefs that were pretty upset about that, flying into the community that he doesn't belong."
@solmamakwa I'm told that MPP Sol Mamakwa will respond to Ford's allegation shortly, but for now NDP officials say he is a priority candidate for vaccination as he is an Indigenous adult and was asked to get vaccinated to discourage hesitancy in the community. #COVID19Ontario
Mamakwa tweeted a few days ago about getting vaccinated
THREAD: I've done some digging into what's driving the Ford government's push to allow the destruction of a wetland in Pickering to build a warehouse. I hope you'll read the full story. #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
The proposal from the wetland's landowner, Triple Group of Companies, is for the biggest retail warehouse of its kind in Canada.
Sources say the warehouse would be built for @Amazon.
A spokesperson for Amazon Canada said the company isn't commenting on its future plans. #onpoli
Less than 1 km up the hill from the wetland, in Ajax, sits a golf course property that the town recently rezoned. Its developer says there's interest from a "Fortune 50 company" to build a 2.7 million sq ft retail warehouse. My sources also tell me it would be Amazon. #onpoli
NEW: The Ford government wants to rewrite provincial law so that a key clause limiting the scope of ministerial zoning orders does not apply to MZOs ... and *never did*. #onpolicbc.ca/news/canada/to…
@jm_mcgrath CBC News obtained an internal government document that shows the government is making the change specifically to undermine a lawsuit that aims to halt a development on the Lower Duffins Creek wetland in Pickering. #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
THREAD: Officials say Toronto is slower to start vaccinating its 80+ age group because the city has a disproportionate amount of health-care workers and other higher priority groups. I went looking for data to support this claim. #COVID19Ontariocbc.ca/news/canada/to…
Ontario's #COVID19 vaccination plan shows 2.1 million people eligible to be vaccinated in all of Phase 1. That's 14% of the province's total population. @TOPublicHealth estimates 325,000 people eligible in Phase 1, or 11% of Toronto's population. #COVID19Ontario
That evidence does *not* support Toronto's claim to be home to a disproportionate number of people in the higher-priority groups.
But I discovered something else that might help explain Toronto's slower pace ... inequitable distribution of vaccine doses. #COVID19Ontario
THREAD: Opposition parties are reacting to the Ford government’s move to double the annual per-person limit on political donations in Ontario ahead of next year’s election campaign. #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
“Doug Ford’s trying to bring back big money in politics by letting deep-pocketed donors double the amount they give to politicians,” says @TarasNatyshak of the @OntarioNDP. He calls the change a “massive cash grab.” #onpoli
“Doug Ford’s Elections Act changes open the door to pay-to-play politics,” says @OntarioGreens leader @MikeSchreiner “I’m concerned the changes to donation limits will bring more big money into Ontario politics.” #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
BREAKING: The Ford government is proposing changes to Ontario's election laws: doubling annual donation limit, reviving taxpayer subsidy to parties, tightening rules for interest groups like unions & @ontarioisproud. Next election: June 2, 2022. #onpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
@ontarioisproud Doubling the maximum each person can donate annually would likely benefit the @OntarioPCParty the most, as the PCs have far more individual donors who've given at/near the $1,650 annual limit than the other parties. #onpoli