Ford government wins gold medal in flip flops

December 13, 2023

QUEEN'S PARK — Ontario Greens leader and MPP for Guelph Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to news that the Ford government has abandoned its plan to dissolve Peel region, begun a process to revoke eight formerly issued MZOs and enhance monitoring on a slew of others, and abandoned their financial audits of six municipalities in favour of a consultation process relating to further changes to development charges.

“While I’m glad that the voices of municipalities calling out the Premier’s bad decisions are finally being heard, it’s hard to celebrate yet another flood of flip flops from a government that’s wasting time and money with absolutely no concern for the communities affected.

How many more times will we be forced to watch the same story play out before the government puts this bad behaviour to bed?

From the beginning, the Peel dissolution has been all about playing politics – another back-room deal cooked up to benefit political insiders, not everyday Ontarians.

But once again, the Premier ploughed ahead without doing his homework, only to be forced into another hasty U-turn after Peel residents sounded the alarm.

It’s the same with their eleventh-hour backtrack on municipal audits, revocation of a slew of MZOs….the list of wrong turns gets longer every day.

My message to the Ford government: stop wasting Ontarians’ time and money with petty partisanship and dirty deals, and start delivering on the housing and affordability solutions we needed five years ago.

I sincerely hope the Premier has seen the writing on the wall and is ready to start standing up for everyday Ontarians by funding housing projects that put people – not speculators – first.

He can start by passing my Homes You Can Afford in Communities You Love Act to build more homes in existing neighbourhoods – so we can finally get building and put an end to the housing crisis that’s pinching people all across the province.”

-30-