'A climate reporter, a reporter of MANY things' @thenarwhalca |VP @caj |Tweets=mine |Obsessions: space, sports, Springsteen, stuff |'too young'
Sep 4, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Once called a "boy-wonder mayor" (the youngest in Canadian history), Steve Clark has a long, storied political career. Now his legacy will be tainted and for what? He resigns today - on Labour Day - two days after saying, repeatedly, he would "fix the process."
I have questions
Everything Steve Clark has done since becoming Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been mirred in controversy & secrecy.
Started with cutting Toronto City Council in half. Then, Bill 23. Then, municipal audits. Then, growth plan revamp. Then cutting into the Greenbelt
Jun 7, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Today in #onpoli: Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles asks Premier Doug Ford to commit to taking serious climate action in the wake of the wildfires. Ford says she is "politicizing the wildfires."
FACT CHECK: climate change isn't political. It's science & pretty undeniable right now
Temperatures are increasing because of emissions produced by human activity. This is causing dry conditions that allow wildfires to break out. They spread because we're cutting down more trees to build stuff so the ground is drier.
Feb 13, 2023 • 8 tweets • 6 min read
I know there's A LOT going on in Ontario / Toronto but a reminder: Doug Ford's first move in office was to cancel cap & trade, and Koch Industries is suing Canada in an ongoing lawsuit that calls the move "guerrilla policy by a populist government" thenarwhal.ca/koch-lawsuit-c…#onpoli
I've been following the cap + trade cancellation since it happened in June 2018. It remains A Big Secret. New docs in this lawsuit by Koch Industries finds the Doug Ford gov't is withholding docs about the cancellation. thenarwhal.ca/koch-lawsuit-c…#onpoli
Jan 30, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Doug Ford wants to shift more of York Region’s sewage to Lake Ontario — a decision made the same day as Bill 23 that may break an international Great Lakes agreement AND forever destroy the health of 2 lakes that give us drinking water.
As a Narwhal reader helpfully sloganed: "You can't scoop (or build), before you plan for the poop." York Region has been debating how to do this for 14 years. Doug Ford made a sudden decision about it, with very few details. The consequences could be HUGE
Jan 19, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
I got 2 leaked letters that show, while we were on holiday, the Doug Ford gov't actually removed conservation authority powers to review development that impact natural spaces that are "intrinsically linked to flooding." Everyone got 3 days notice
Conservation authorities have protected the environment from harmful development (not all development is harmful) for over 50 years. No other entity in Ontario is prepared or equipped (or funded) to do this. Municipalities are "frustrated and flummoxed."
Nov 3, 2022 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Many have shared confidential #onpoli documents with me & @EmmaMci showing Doug Ford got warnings about the environmental impacts of his housing bill. So we made a list.
From Toronto's climate plan to Indigenous rights, "It's death by a thousand cuts" thenarwhal.ca/doug-ford-hous…@EmmaMci On the eve of a likely Ontario education workers strike, here's why this matters:
1) This is not the first time the Ford government has cut environmental protections. We've seen this playbook before. This time there are no guardrails. (Trust us, we read all of it.) That is scary
Oct 26, 2022 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
👋🏾 This week the Doug Ford gov't revealed planning legislation to build more homes that will force conservation authorities to give up conservation land AND their powers to review builds on wetlands, floodplains.
@EmmaMci & I broke it all down thenarwhal.ca/ontario-conser…#onpoli
In their public messaging about this legislation, the Ford government NEVER mentioned conservation authorities. We found out because sources trusted us. So we were able to cut through the billion other things they announced yesterday.
In a LOL turn of events, Canada is uumm *double checks notes* defending Doug Ford for canceling cap-and-trade in a lawsuit involving Koch Industries.
Canada says Ford's decision was "legitimate" and "made in good faith." My latest on this wild saga 🧵 thenarwhal.ca/canada-defends…
Reminder: Doug Ford's *FIRST* move in office was to (illegally) cancel the $3B cap-and-trade program. Overnight, Ontario had no emissions-reduction plan so PMJT applied a carbon price. That led to a Big Supreme Court Fight™
Doug Ford is returning $1B to Ontario drivers by cancelling licence plate renewal fees. @enviroeconomics calls it "buck-a-beer, but for drivers."
Analysis from me on how the Ford government continues to prioritize roads over public transit — and climate. thenarwhal.ca/ford-licence-r…@enviroeconomics The Ford government has expanded highways AND invested in public transit. But a closer look shows they have remained steadfast in their vision for a car-based future. All their transit projects are underground and don't take away from road space.
Feb 17, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
New documents show that after Doug Ford's "ill-considered, precipitous & illegal” decision to end cap-and-trade, members of the Premier's office pushed Koch Industries to take its complaints to international court, making this Canada's problem.
My latest: thenarwhal.ca/koch-sues-cana…
These new documents show Koch Industries spent 2 years trying to negotiate with multiple Ford staff members & ministers - including Vic Fedeli and Monte McNaughton - to get compensation. They even asked the US ambassador to meet with Ford.
