Thread by @downtownrob88

TorStar's Regg Cohn works up a thousand words on Doug's Greenbelt severance shocker without a single mention of the racketeer's bloodsucker class of elites -- as usual, a long list of donors to Ford and his PCs -- who stand to benefit from the environmental encroachment. /2

The belligerent Ford is bulldozing the 68.2-km, $7.5B to $10B Hwy 413/Bradford Bypass through the Greenbelt, contrary to expert advice and public opinion. Frank Graves' EKOS firm showed 74% of 905'ers oppose Hwy 413 in a Dec 2021 poll; updated May 2022, 48% of Ontarians ../3

...oppose the project, while only 23% support it. The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers condemned the project in a blog post, May 31, 2022;

The Bradford Bypass will bisect the Holland Marsh and cross 28 Lake Simcoe waterways, yet is exempt from environmental review; /4

Apr 5, 2022, Minister of Greenbelt Highways Caroline Mulroney awarded first contracts for bridge construction along the controversial Bypass;

The transport boss ludicrously contends that the artery will relieve congestion in the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.../5

...a nondescript lower-tier municipality of only 38,100 ranked 29th by population in Ontario that few could locate on a map;

Large developers, TACC (DeGasperis), Rice and Flato, many prolific political donors, collectively own at least 3,100 acres (12.5 sq km) of land near.../6

...the Bypass and stand to profit;

Five of the developers have close ties to Ford’s government through insiders and former party officials now acting as lobbyists. One of those lobbyists was the chair of Transportation Minister Mulroney’s 2018 PC leadership campaign... /6

Ontario Proud," the right-wing Facebook viral meme-maker, political advocacy group and third-party advertiser formed by Jeff "Bowlingball" Ballingall, instrumental in Ford's win over the Liberals in 2018, was aided by $460,000 in corporate donations from a group of housing .../7

...developers, including TACC (DeGasperis), Rice Group and Flato Developments;

Suspected payback is opening up thousands of acres of Greenbelt along Hwy 413 and the Bradford Bypass to residential housing. /8

The anti-teacher, pro-Ford "Vaughan Working Families" has ties to the DeGasperis family, billionaire developers and well-connected Conservatives lobbying Ford to build Highway 413. Prominent members of the lobby group include Cortellucci, De Meneghi, Fieldgate, Mazzocco.../9

...Marotta, Guglietta and Di Poce;

Mario Cortellucci, influential player in right-wing Italian politics known to wield insider influence on Ford, is granted 5 MZOs; one Mar 4, 2022 order requested by Cortel Group authorizes the development of approx../10

thestar.com/politics/polit…

...3M square feet of industrial buildings on former agricultural land;

Blatant favouritism is persistently extended to select firms: Mattamy Homes, Merit Homes, Nashville Homes, Cortel Group, Empire Communities, Fieldgate, Argo Developments, Linamar;

The Bradford Bypass.../11

...is rerouted aroundca golf course owned by relative of MPP Stan Cho (PCPO-Willowdale), whose riding is located 30 miles distant from the links;

July 2020, Ford's Bill 197, the Covid-19 Economic Recovery Act, eliminates many environmental reviews; the government bill also.../12

...retroactively exempted Ford from having to consult stakeholders about future changes to the Environmental Assessment Act, leveraging the promise of economic growth to tear up environmental protections and prevent Ontarians from having a say on major projects; /13

It was typical Not-so-Slim Shady Ford's statute construction: a) it freed up an expansion in MZO use; b) the devious premier failed to post the changes for public comment until after his moves became law;

Ford appointed developer/PC donor Mario Cortellucci to the York Police Services Board in Nov 2022;

In 2018, Cortellucci ran for the Italian Senate under the far-right banner of Giorgia Meloni/Berlusconi (and lost).

#CLUSTERFORD

docs.google.com/document/d/1DL…