President Douglas Robert Ford, Jr.
Pink Palace
Queen’s Park Circle
Toronto, Ontario
My Dear President Ford,
On behalf of the 1,912,057 enlightened citizens of Ontario who voted to give your Regressive Conservative party an overwhelming second majority government last June, I wish to assure you that – contrary to the dire warnings of sour editorialists – we are perfectly happy to be living with what we got in the election. Your critics kept insisting that giving you too much power would mean that Ontario’s 14.3 million people would be hostage to a one-party government, led by a man of no fixed principle and a record of doing whatever he wants, when he wants, regardless of what he said in the past he was going to do – a leader undeterred by a pair of impotent opposition parties.
And what is wrong with that, Mr. President? (Oh, sorry, must we really continue to address you as though you were a mere “premier?”). Who knows why a record 56 per cent of eligible Ontarians didn’t bother to vote, but if they are not happy with the outcome, that’s their problem, not yours.
One thing concerns me, as it does you, Sir. It is the effort by a faction of the popular press, led by the insidious Toronto Star, to arrogate unto itself the opposition role that rightly belongs to the Liberal Party of Ontario (which has no perceptible heartbeat) and the New Democrats (who were lucky to find one volunteer for its thankless leadership).
These “media” types are out to sabotage your government. They are posing as legitimate watchdogs and ethics monitors. They would have the good people of Ontario believe that you – this is incredible! – are under the influence of the development industry. Yes, those civic-minded corporations and individuals who bulldoze, dig, drain wetlands, and chop down trees to build roads, bridges, parking lots, and subdivisions, with the sole aim of making Ontario greater, truly A Place to Grow.
It’s true that you promised during the election to protect Greenbelt in Southern Ontario from the ravages of development. But that was then. You had an election campaign to win. This now. It is time to be real. You made a commitment to the federal government to build 1.5 million new homes, and you have to find places to put them. The Greenbelt is huge (2-million acres). A few thousand acres removed from protection will scarcely be noticed. A few insects, birds, turtles and lizards may notice, but there are other places not far away where they can go to live out their endangered lives.
The unseemly implication in much of the media coverage is that money is somehow involved in your decisions, that you are surrounding yourself with chosen developers who, having made a modest profit in their civic endeavours, have the wherewithal to invest in political parties and campaigns. Absurd! The people you entertain and invite to be your guests at social events are your friends. Friends! It’s a simple as that.
We, your loyal supporters, share your outrage at the way the Star has invaded your privacy and your family life. It managed to get its hands on guest lists to show which developers were invited to one of those pre-nuptial snag-the-dough events last year for one of your four K-named daughters, Kayla, a holistic health coach, and her intended, a Toronto police officer, not to mention a seating plan that identified the developers who were honoured with places at your table for the wedding dinner in September.
Two of the guests at your table were developers who have received provincial appointments since you took office. Mario Cortellucci, president of Cortel Group, was appointed last October to a three-year term on the York Region Police Services Board, and Carmine Nigro, president and CEO of Craft Development Corp, is the part-time chair of the LCBO, chair of the province’s Ontario Place Corporation, and a part-time member of Invest Ontario, the agency that courts investment in Ontario.
Another dinner guest was Nico Fidani-Diker, a lobbyist for Fieldgate Land Development Ltd., White Owl Properties Ltd., and other development companies. He told the Star he did not discuss government business with anyone at the dinner. Fieldgate has benefited from minister’s zoning orders (known as MZO’s) to fast-track development approvals along the proposed route of Hwy 413. White Owl is asking the provincial government to redesignate environmentally sensitive land in the Oak Ridges Moraine for development.
Sir, I submit that the press, in its preoccupation with patronage, conflict of interest and ethics, keeps asking the wrong question. It’s not why you want to be surround yourself with people who do, or seek to do, business with the provincial government. The question should be pointed in the other direction: why do all these developers want to be so close to you?
The media have blind spots. They will ignore obvious explanations in their search for ulterior motives. The obvious answer, Mr. Ford, is that developers, like so many other Ontarians, find you unspoiled by power. They find you warm, witty, and gracious, a delightful dinner companion. You charm them. They fall under your spell. And who can blame them?
Your loyal admirer,
Etc., etc.
Cambridge resident Geoffrey Stevens is an author and former Ottawa columnist and managing editor of the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s. He welcomes comments at geoffstevens40@gmail.com