It’s somewhat possible to overlook Justin Trudeau’s empty pledges to address the housing problem. But it’s vital to maintain track of how little the Canadian Prime Minister has done to keep housing prices from skyrocketing since the Liberals were elected in 2015.
Not only is the Liberal government fiddle-faddling on the housing crisis, but it is also putting obstacles in the way of patriotic competent leaders who are trying to help Canadians get out of this quagmire.
Recently, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that he is “really disappointed” that the federal environment minister is thinking about potentially intervening with the province’s plans to build housing on Greenbelt land.
“This is our jurisdiction,” Doug Ford told reporters Friday in Brampton.
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His comments came after federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was quoted as saying he has “a legislative obligation to intervene” if species-at-risk are threatened by any Greenbelt development. In order to address Ontario’s housing crisis, Doug Ford is attempting to use 7,400 acres of the two-million-acre Greenbelt in return for adding 9,400 acres of protected land elsewhere.
To alleviate Toronto’s acute housing affordability, Doug Ford recently proposed rezoning a portion of the Greenbelt around the Greater Toronto Area to allow developers to build single-family homes on some of the enormous supply of urban fringe land.
Doug Ford may have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the housing affordability situation successfully. However, Trudeau’s extreme climate alarmism has become a huge impediment to Ford’s proposal becoming a reality.
To be clear, Trudeau has consistently prioritised himself over Canada’s national interests. While Toronto’s housing will remain unaffordable unless the government uses the Greenbelt, this step would also enrage environmentalists worldwide. And this is something that the Liberal Prime Minister, who is so passionately concerned about his image, would never want. He is determined to maintain his “pseudo” reputation of a progressive liberal prime minister. This is precisely why Ford’s proposal was rejected by the Liberal administration in order to get cosmetic plaudits from so-called progressives all around the world.
But this time, Trudeau is up against a tough leader. Not only has Doug Ford sent a strong message to the federal government not to violate constitutional provisions and interfere in provincial jurisdiction, but he has also left no stone unturned in uncovering Prime Minister Trudeau’s duplicity.
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Complaining of “a little bit of a double standard,” Doug Ford noted his government is not the first to make changes to the protected lands of Greenbelt, which has existed since 2005.
“I never hear anyone talk about the Liberals that changed the Greenbelt 17 times … not a peep, not a word. And there was no housing crisis back there. We’re doing it for one reason. We want to build homes.” Besides, Ford pointed out 50,000 homes will be built on the 15 parcels of Greater Toronto Area land being slated for development and that each is adjacent to fully serviced land.
“So there’s a community on one side of the road; the other side of the road, there’s an empty field, all the service things being there. So naturally, you’re going to build on that open field. Simple as that,” he said.
“But make no mistake about it. We’re building homes on those pieces of property as sure as I’m standing here today.”
Trudeau’s radical climate alarmism has already shattered the lives of many Canadians. Allowing him to run wild with such preposterous policymaking is a disservice to the Canadian people. Doug Ford is correct to stand up to Trudeau. The Canadian housing crisis is just too serious to be left in Trudeau’s hands.
