Ford finds a channel-changer. But the Greenbelt damage persists.

And committees rev up

ABOVE THE FOLD

FRESH CONTROVERSY — Premier DOUG FORD made headlines over the weekend — but this time, and much to his relief, it wasn’t about the Greenbelt.

A damper: Stuck in damage control mode over the land swap debacle for weeks, Ford and his PC crew attempted to brush off their dwindling popularity and party with free hot dogs and family fun at Bingemans in Kitchener, where a byelection looms.

Speaking to supporters — and protesters — at Ford Fest on Friday, the Premier opened up a can of worms on the gender pronoun policy debate and pledged to bring $500,000-modular homes to the province, with little detail.

On gender identity: “It is not up to the teachers, it’s not up to the school boards to indoctrinate our kids,” Ford said, to big cheers. His comments follow Education Minister STEPHEN LECCE saying he believes parents “must be fully involved” if their child wants to use a different pronoun at school, which followed an Angus Reid poll that suggests nearly half of parents in On…