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More NOT “for the people”

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In Council Watch
Mar 11th, 2021
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By Alan Millard Ramara Township

Recently I participated in an LPAT virtual “Case Management Conference”. At the end the lawyers and the chairperson were blithely discussing whether the “hearing” [sic] in 2022 would take 4, 5, or 6 weeks. They thought 5 would be about right. Here is my take on the process.

1. No “appeal” should take more than a day or half-day. The very idea of an appeal is to test whether the trier of fact has made serious errors of fact (commission and/or omission) and/or law. In creating the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal the Wynne Government made an attempt to shift decision-making power towards accountable (elected) municipal bodies and away from the czars at the OMB. The Ford Government quickly restored power to the czars even though the word “appeals” was retained, probably in order to mislead the general public. Anyone enmeshed in the process knows that the LPAT is the omnipotent OMB in disguise.

2. The Ford Government has a demonstrated contempt for municipal government and the move back(ward) to making the LPAT the “court” where the real “trial” takes place in planning matters underscores with double lines that municipal councils are mere ciphers. So much “for the people” and their elected representatives who are said, according to the cliche, to be closer to the people than provincial and federal representatives.

3. Deep pockets rule the roost. When legal and “expert” fees for a 5-week trial, not to mention costs for preparation of reports and witnesses, are added up there will be few citizens’ groups and not many municipalities willing and able to bear the cost of opposing the “exploitopers” (my word for the so-called “developers”). In the matter I am concerned with I heard that some councillors – not a majority, it turned out – did express concerns about the cost of saying “no” to the exploitoper because of the inevitable run to the disguised OMB. If the deep pockets don’t win by default they are likely to win by attrition. (And their costs are written off as part of the cost of doing business – another unfair advantage.)

Some people like to say that democracy is daily engagement by the citizen and not just voting in an unfair electoral system once every three or four years. But consider this: In the case I am involved with the municipal council held a public meeting at which the exploitoper and the citizens had a lengthy opportunity (about 4 hours) to present their cases for and against. Council followed planning processes and heard further from peer reviewers and responders, and so on. It considered the matter carefully and rejected the rezoning which, if allowed, would have left the community many years later with nothing but an unusable huge hazardous hole in the ground filled with dead water. All of the citizen engagement, and all of the agonizing by their elected representatives, was a total waste of time for the idea of a democracy or representative democracy.

Going through the motions of listening to the people did, however, help the deep pockets. They got a preview of how to tailor their case to meet objections when their real chance came before Ford’s neo-OMB.

If, in spite of all the advantages Premier Ford has given to his deep-pocketed friends, the neo-OMB still doesn’t do what those friends want, there is always the Ministerial Zoning Order to make things right. An MZO has become the real “appeal” process in Ontario even though only one side has the ear of the Minister for its appeal. Is there still left anyone in Ontario who does not see the contempt for the people?

One Response to “More NOT “for the people””

  1. Holly Levinter says:

    Alan Millard is a valuable member of the community who brings out in the open the disgraceful way our current provincial government is ruining the way of life for far too many people in his province by his wasteful spending of tax payer’s dollars. Every decision he makes that is challenged goes to the courts for a ruling. He loses but don’t blame the courts. Blame Ford for pushing his agenda for his personal betterment to his only final recourse; the courts.
    People forget that he loses his cases.
    Does no one call on his corruption and his contempt for the betterment of his province except a few responsible citizens?

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