Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, shown at Queen s Park in 2018. On Thursday, Horwath questioned why the Ford government would spend hours debating the Line 5 pipeline while questions remain around COVID-19 vaccine rollout. File photo by Carlos Osorio
As the Ford government spent Thursday afternoon debating the battle over the fate of the Line 5 pipeline, opposition parties questioned whether it was a good use of time amid COVID-19.
“It s really interesting that the government put on the agenda the debate about Line 5 when they got back to the legislature last week with not a single new initiative to help people get through COVID-19,” Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said, pointing out that Ontario doesn’t have jurisdiction over the pipeline.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford at Queen s Park in October 2018. The Ford government came under fire over the environmental impact of its zoning decisions Tuesday. File photo by Carlos Osorio
The Ford government won’t apologize for its use of a controversial special zoning order to approve developments with environmental concerns, Progressive Conservative MPP Parm Gill said Tuesday.
Gill, the parliamentary assistant to Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark, made the remarks during question period after the opposition raised an investigation by
Canada’s National Observer, released last week, which found the government had used municipal zoning orders (MZOs) to override environmental issues 14 times. An MZO is an unappealable order that allows the minister of municipal affairs to skip the local planning process and decide how land can be used.
Premier Doug Ford, shown in a 2018 file photo. Ontario s opposition parties have pledged to undo the Ford government s changes to conservation authorities if one of them wins the next election. File photo by Alex Tétreault
The Ontario Liberal, NDP and Green parties vowed Tuesday to reverse the Progressive Conservative government’s weakening of conservation authorities if one of them wins the next election.
The government passed a bill weakening the powers of conservation authorities agencies that oversee watersheds and development that happens nearby in December amid widespread backlash. If elected, the opposition parties said they would also revoke permits for projects approved under the more lenient rules, without giving compensation to developers.
Ford government announces plan to expand Greenbelt amid increasing backlash to development nationalobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Premier Doug Ford owes an apology to every woman in Ontario for hurling what she calls a sexist remark at her during a heated exchange over the government’s plan to reopen the province.