The Big Gift

One topic of conversation has dominated the political chatterati this week - Ontario's Bill 23. The bill that takes land from the GreenBelt and gives it to his rich developer friends.

With very few supporters, apart from the trained seals who sit on the benches of the Ontario Government side of Queen's Park and his rich developer friends, this legislation has been universally condemned and decried by almost all of the usual commentators.

The problem here is that it has failed to be grabbed by the public's imagination and observed by many as 'politics as usual'.

From the Toronto Star/Narwal story that outlined the links between the land being taken out of the GreenBelt and its developer owners and their donations to Doug Ford's election funds to the huge opposition papers from many of Ontario's Municipalities the reaction has been the same - total opposition. 

So where do the critics and opponents of this Bill go from here? It appears to me that the Bill, now having been passed into law, will be tough to kill. One municipality has proposed that a line item be inserted into its municipal budget showing the cost to the municipal taxpayer, others have suggested that municipalities should not fund the extra costs need to fill the gap of the changed development charge, and some still do not know how to respond.

Here's my suggestion: using the mantra "There is only one taxpayer" - Ford should remember who made this memorable, his friend Mike Harris - the Municipalities should fund a constant ad campaign outlining the actual cost to a taxpayer in next year's budget. Drive home the fact that the loss of money coming from the Development Charges could be at least a 5% tax increase people will take notice.

Taxpayers are naturally angry, give them a target for their anger - Doug Ford and his rich friends.