Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

[lenaitch]

I don't think have i ever seen a 7-Eleven, or any other convenience store in the US, where you can drink in the store, not even in the redneck states. I bought beer from a 7-eleven in Vegas, they blasted opera music in the parking lot, to stop people from drinking on the property.

That's what struck me odd as well about this proposal. Alcohol sales are relatively free-wheeling in pretty much all US states and I have never seen a convenience store that was a consumption site. The poor night shift staffer (who would have to be over 18) would now have to add 'server' to cash, stocking, lottery sales and otherwise ignoring customers while on their phones.

 

[Northern Light]

I recall a few years ago when they were hit with a hurricane (forgot which one), several low-lying neighbourhoods were inundated. Apparently houses were allowed to build there since the State pretty much abandoned all zoning restrictions. Live free and die, it seems.

That was Hurricane Harvey.

The City in question was Houston; which to my knowledge has never had zoning laws.

The floodplain issue is broader than Houston; I'm aware of only a handful of U.S. States that have limitations on developing floodplains.

Between the absence of said restrictions; and a habit of Federal Insurer FEMA bailing out people who experience floods.............

 

[afransen]

Green power is pretty Democrat for a state that consistently votes Republican

''Because Texas', standby generators or all buy new trucks:

(up to 7.2Kw from 2021 Ford F150 hybrid)

5 Fun Facts About the 2021 F-150’s Onboard Generator | PickupTrucks.com

The 2021 F-150’s Pro Power Onboard system turns your truck’s engine into a generator that you can use to power any number of appliances.

news.pickuptrucks.com

A decent and functioning regulatory framework would be a good start. They have 3 or 4 grid interconnects with surrounding states, but they are not automatic; all this to avoid federal regulatory interference. It seems a number of their municipal water systems have been privatized as well.

I recall a few years ago when they were hit with a hurricane (forgot which one), several low-lying neighbourhoods were inundated. Apparently houses were allowed to build there since the State pretty much abandoned all zoning restrictions. Live free and die, it seems.

Texas has been developing wind renewable energy resources like crazy. Much like Alberta.

Problem with generators is that they need fuel. Fuel pumps don't work without power. So multiple-day outages will be very problematic. Over time, we should expect to see electric cars have vehicle to grid (V2G) capability which would provide lots of battery back up.

Only a natural gas generator would I be confident in as an alternative to solar + battery for long term disaster power outages.

 

[lenaitch]

Texas has been developing wind renewable energy resources like crazy. Much like Alberta.

Yes, now all they have to do is winterize them.

 

[Johnny Au]

Having fully renewable energy sources is perfectly compatible with small government mentalities like in Texas:

Install solar panels, wind turbines, and home batteries on one's property and one would be self-sufficient power-wise.

 

[lenaitch]

Although solar might be a good fit for their climate, contrary to its 'wide open spaces' image, not everybody has the space for turbines. They likely have an urban- suburban-rural mix similar to other jurisdictions (according to the web, their rural population is around 15%, higher than Ontario at around 10%).

Although the long term benefits might be there, it is possible that a lot of households simply can't manage the upfront conversion costs (cash outlay or amortized). A Powerwall alone is about $12K. This doesn't account for those living in multiple unit dwellings who have little capacity to initiate such changes.

 

[zang]

Although solar might be a good fit for their climate, contrary to its 'wide open spaces' image, not everybody has the space for turbines. They likely have an urban- suburban-rural mix similar to other jurisdictions (according to the web, their rural population is around 15%, higher than Ontario at around 10%).

Although the long term benefits might be there, it is possible that a lot of households simply can't manage the upfront conversion costs (cash outlay or amortized). A Powerwall alone is about $12K. This doesn't account for those living in multiple unit dwellings who have little capacity to initiate such changes.

Texas, being a coastal state, has plenty of offshore space to put turbines.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Texas, being a coastal state, has plenty of offshore space to put turbines.

Those offshore turbines are so ugly, a blight on any coastline.

Delight as wind turbines in the Yorkshire Dales first to be torn down

The 150ft high turbines of Chelker Reservoir, near Ilkley, will not be replaced after the council refused permission for two even bigger machines.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[lenaitch]

Texas, being a coastal state, has plenty of offshore space to put turbines.

True, but my reply was in the context of individual property owners as suggested, rather than state or corporate involvement.

 

[PinkLucy]

Ahem, can we get back to Doug Ford’s Ontario?

 

[lenaitch]

I'm easily led astray.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Ford government selling Dominion Foundries land, but isn't revealing buyer​

Province approved 'agreement of purchase and sale' for heritage property last September, document shows​

From link.

A government document shows Ontario's Treasury Board approved entering into an agreement of purchase and sale with an unnamed buyer for the Dominion Foundry complex, provincially-owned land on Eastern Avenue in Toronto. (CBC)

The Ford government approved a closed-door deal last September to sell provincially-owned land in Toronto that's at the centre of a dispute over heritage value, CBC News has learned.

The government is refusing to disclose the identity of the prospective buyer or the purchase price for the Dominion Wheel and Foundries property on Eastern Avenue in the West Don Lands.

The heritage-listed property was in the spotlight in January when a demolition crew hired by the province began work at the site. A temporary injunction has halted the demolition, pending a hearing scheduled for Friday in Ontario Divisional court. The City of Toronto was an interested party to the application to the court by the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association.

The existence of an agreement to sell the property has not been previously reported and there is no record of an open call for bids on the land.

A heritage impact assessment document prepared in October by Infrastructure Ontario, submitted as part of the court case, reveals that the province already has a deal with an undisclosed buyer to purchase the land.

"On September 22, 2020, Treasury Board approved entering into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale with the Purchaser, negotiated over the last several months by Infrastructure Ontario and the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator, an office of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing," the document reads.

CBC News asked officials working with Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy, Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark to provide details about the sale.

"The government approved a negotiating mandate that would facilitate the future sale of the site, however the site has not been sold," said Clark's director of communications, Adam Wilson, in a statement.

Wilson did not answer direct questions about the identity of the "purchaser" described in the document, the price for the property or the reason the government did not seek bids on the open market to develop the land.

He did not deny that the province has approved entering into an agreement of purchase and sale.

Opposition politicians and the neighbourhood group lobbying to preserve the buildings are outraged to learn that an agreement had been reached months ago.

Cynthia Wilkey, a,member of the group Friends of the Foundry said she was shocked and horrified.

"It's just unbelievable that there would be a quiet, secret, behind-closed-doors decision to sell a very important piece of public property," said Wilkey in an interview.

"It's stunningly and flagrantly at odds with our expectation of integrity in the disposition of public land."

Wilkey said all other development projects on public lands in the neighbourhood have gone through open, competitive bidding processes.

The New Democratic MPP whose riding covers the Dominion Foundries land, Suze Morrison, says the document reveals a "secret, backroom" arrangement to sell the property

"Doug Ford needs to come clean now and tell Ontarians who got the sweetheart deal to demolish a historic landmark," Morrison said in a statement.

"It looks like the premier might be doing another favour for his developer buddies."

Stephen Blais, the Liberal Party critic for Municipal Affairs and Housing, called on the government to release all details of the deal.

"Doug Ford's decision to use the cover of a pandemic to ram through a secret deal to sell and demolish Toronto's Dominion Foundries is a completely unacceptable abuse of power," Blais said in a statement.

Officials with the Ford government say the province intends to leverage the property for badly needed affordable housing and community space.

Clark issued this ministerial zoning order (MZO) on the property in October to pave the way for a building project, but the province did not indicate that any deal had been reached to develop the property.

Earlier this month, after the injunction was granted, the government launched online public consultations about the site, to be completed March 4

The existence of an agreement to sell and the "several months" of negotiations with the buyer caught the eye of Toronto's chief planner, Gregg Lintern.

"It appears that the province intended to sell these properties for some time now," Lintern said in a Jan. 24 letter to an assistant deputy minister responsible for housing, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

Lintern questioned why the province's heritage impact assessment was completed after the negotiations with the purchaser, and after Treasury Board gave the go-ahead for the deal to sell...

 

[Thinker]

Yet another underhanded secret deal. Yet some people say we are treating the Ford government unfairly by accusing them of shady dealings that profit either their koffers or the wallet of certain builder friends. Heritage buildings are just that, I am fairly familiar with the building when I was a director of a nonprofit charity, we operated from that building. It was in bad shape then, with certain rooms inaccessible because of rotting floorboards. We had to vacate the space as a theatre production had rented most of the space. It was also slated to be renovated and converted into useable (?) Living and artists space, it was never slated to be demolished.

 

[Northern Light]

On a different note..........

The Ontario Court of Justice now has a new Associate Chief Justice.

Ontario Newsroom

news.ontario.ca

The reason this is of note, to me; is that The Honourable Aston J. Hall is a Black man.

I'm not certain if he's the first Black man to have this position, but he may be, and would certainly be one of very few.

Nice to see our Courts getting a bit more diverse near the top.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Horwath forces vote on Ford’s shutdown of LTC Commission​

From link.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will force a vote Monday on her proposal to extend the Long-Term Care Commission's deadline, so it can finish its work determining what’s gone so wrong in long-term care during this pandemic, and make recommendations to ensure it never happens again.


"Our parents and grandparents, families and long-term care staff deserve for us to do everything in our power to learn what is going wrong, and change the system so they’ll be safe in long-term care,” said Horwath.


“Although the problems started years ago, over 3,700 people have tragically lost their lives to COVID-19 in nursing homes during the pandemic, and residents, staff and their families are still living with outbreaks, fear, and isolation. It’s not time to cut off the investigation – not while the pandemic is still raging.”


In December, the commission requested an extension to the end of 2021. The Ford government denied the request, so the commission had to stop accepting submissions as of Jan. 31, 2021. Horwath and the NDP called for an independent judicial Public Inquiry into long-term care rather than a commission in part so that Doug Ford would not have the right to time-limit or shut down the investigation.


“Doug Ford is shutting down the Long-Term Care Commission despite the commissioners’ explicit request for an extension,” said Horwath. “It looks like his government's attempt to cover up a disaster. Ford prioritized saving a buck over saving the lives of thousands of seniors. He prioritized protecting for-profit long-term care companies from lawsuits over protecting seniors in care. Now he’s avoiding scrutiny for all of that, and our loved ones pay the price for that decision.”


Horwath and the NDP have released a comprehensive plan to overhaul long-term care and home care, including transitioning the entire system to not-for-profit and public hands and banning for-profit corporations, while adding 50,000 new beds in smaller, more home-like settings.