The politics of bike lanes
Fresh regs: More units, transit-oriented communities
ABOVE THE FOLD
SOUND-BITE PREMIER — Highlights from DOUG FORD’s Monday presser:
When it comes to that future bike lane ban, Ford offered some more hints. Asked why he doesn’t trust municipalities to deal with bike lanes, the Premier said he just wants to “get traffic moving.”
What we know so far: The proposal is part of an anti-gridlock package — dubbed the Reducing Gridlock and Saving You Time Act — that’s expected to hit the Clerk’s table when the House reconvenes next month. It would, as the Premier intimated, limit the construction of new cycling infrastructure if it blocks lanes for cars, buses or other traffic.
“What it comes down to: making sure you aren’t putting bike lanes in the middle of some of the busiest streets in the country,” Ford said. “Believe it or not, you know my [late] brother [former mayor] ROB actually put more bike lanes in than DAVID MILLER — but he didn’t do it down the middle of University or Bloor or any of those streets, he did it on the secondary…side streets.”
Bike lanes have sucked up all the oxygen in the room — and that may be on purpose.
Word on the street is the PCs have tested the proposal with focus groups and polling. And like the federal carbon levy, the PCs are now boxing their political opponents — and Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE in particular — into a corner, forcing them to take a stance on the matter rather than talk about other important things — like, say, the state of health care or the RCMP’s Greenbelt investigation.
“Another shiny object to stop Bonnie talking about health and education,” said one insider.
Crombie plays it cool: Crombie hasn’t explicitly come out against a bike lane ban — which may be more popular in ridings she’ll want to capture, especially in Midtown Toronto. But she did slam Ford for making “his priorities clear: booze, bike lanes and his buddies. My priority is delivering more for you, by giving less to Conservative insiders.”
Meanwhile the NDP’s Transportation critic JOEL HARDEN accused Ford of playing politics with people’s lives. “This is putting wedge politics over real solutions.”
Back to Ford…
Potty-mouth Premier: Asked about the waitlist for affordable housing and how his government’s latest cash injection will help clear homeless encampments, Ford was blunt. “You know what’s the best way to get people out of the encampments, to get out of homeless?…If you’re healthy, get off your A-S-S and start working like everyone else.”
Street nurse CATHY CROWE took issue with that. “My experience has been that when a politician speaks like this with disregard and disrespect it fuels hate and hate crimes towards the population he is disparaging. The fact so many people clapped at his statement is appalling,” she posted on X.
On reports that the government is eyeing 24/7 construction and “customized” environmental assessments to build Highway 413: “We’ve been working on this environmental assessment since before Moses…There’s hundreds of thousands of people stuck in their cars, backed up to Timbuktu, and you’re worried about a grasshopper jumping across the highway…Let’s build the damn highway.”
On the TDSB’s field trip to that Grassy Narrows First Nation demonstration, which Ford called a “Palestine rally” and promised his government would be “all over it”: “Stick with your knitting…It’s disgraceful, you’re trying to indoctrinate our kids. They should be in the classroom learning about reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic — the whole shebang — but instead, the TDSB and these teachers want to bring them down to a rally, a Palestinian rally, and it’s ridiculous. I’ve said this indoctrination for years, and I don’t want to paint a broad brush for all the teachers, because it’s not all the teachers. It’s a small minority of teachers, and it’s no different in our universities.”
It’s not the first time the Premier has accused teachers of indoctrinating kids (especially when he’s in damage control mode).
Ford’s actual announcement: Cobourg is getting a $25-million slice of the $970-million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund, which will help build water infrastructure to support 2,266 new homes, the government says. Ford has been playing nice and making it rain for municipalities, which he’ll want onside if there’s an early election.
HAPPENING TODAY
DOUG FORD’S TUESDAY — 10:30 a.m.: Another day, another stump-style announcement during this (extended) unofficial campaign summer. This time, the Premier is up in Port Colborne alongside Trade Minister VIC FEDELI.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 5:30 p.m.: PC STAN CHO is hosting in North York for $1,000 a pop. Invite. At 6 p.m.: Liberals in Markham-Stouffville are doing trivia, pizza and beer at arcade bar Denthreesixty for $55. RSVP.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — Crickets. MPPs are back at it Wednesday.
CLIPPINGS
— BILL 7 GETS ITS DAY IN COURT: If Monday’s line of questioning was any indication, advocates challenging the Ford government’s hot-potato Bill 7 are in for a tough fight. Justice ROBERT CENTA spent Day 1 of hearings grilling STEVEN SHRYBMAN, the lawyer representing the Ontario Health Coalition and Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, which launched the Charter challenge.
The pair went back and forth on why, as the judge put it, discharged alternate level of care patients “have the right to remain in a hospital bed” without paying $400-a-day for it. But Shrybman argued it’s about their Charter right to equality, choice and security, and that forcing patients to pay if they won’t go to a non-preferred long-term care home amounts to “coercion.”
They’ll go for Round II at 10 a.m.
— POLL WATCH: The latest horse race numbers, via Mainstreet Research, suggest — surprise, surprise! — DOUG FORD and the PCs would blow their rivals out of the water if an election were held today. Among decided and leaning voters: 38 per cent would pick the PCs, 28 per cent would vote for the Liberals and BONNIE CROMBIE, a paltry 16 per cent would back MARIT STILES and the NDP, while five per cent want the Greens and MIKE SCHREINER and another five per cent want an alternative. Of note: Nine per cent of folks are still up for partisan grabs — they’re undecided. Dig in.
Speaking of potential elections, it’s the Globe and Mail’s turn to take a stab at the snap vote speculation. Notable tidbit: “Speaking on a panel at a recent forum in Toronto for political professionals, pollster NICK KOUVALIS, a key adviser to Ontario’s PCs, said Mr. Ford ‘may go early’ after announcing a big new initiative in the coming fall economic statement or spring budget. But he also suggested the early-election talk was a PC strategy to keep opposition parties off balance, forcing them to spend money and recruit candidates when they are behind in the polls.”
Go deeper: Why Ford is leaning in to snap-vote chatter.
— WHAT THE FEDS ARE READING: “Why DOUG FORD won his by-elections and JUSTIN TRUDEAU lost his,” from the Globe’s John Ibbitson. Coles notes: Populism in the suburban streets, “populist shading” in government.
— WHAT FORD NATION IS READING: After taking students to a political rally, Sun columnist Brian Lilley says it’s “Time for Doug Ford to install adult supervision at TDSB.”
— CAN IT! “Ontario grocery store operators raise concerns about requirement to take back empty alcohol containers.” The Globe reports.
— BREAD AND ROSES: Bill 115, who? The Star delves into what it means that the four main teacher unions partied with the Liberals at their weekend convention in London. “After a decade-long rift, the Ontario Liberals and the province’s teacher unions are starting to play nice in the sandbox.” That might be troubling for New Democrats, typically the party backed by organized labour.
And about that convention…
— I ❤️ SHADE: The Grits aren’t fazed by NDPers accusing them of copying their “More For You” slogan. One senior Liberal source texted me after reading yesterday’s newsletter: “I legitimately can say no one had any idea that was their slogan. So if they wanna say they had a similar but worse version no one had ever heard of…kinda says it all, doesn’t it?”
The PCs weren’t spared either: @BonnieHQ put out a cheeky iteration of the new logo.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
STAFFING UP — NICOLAS BOTTGER has signed on to STEPHEN LECCE’s team at Energy and Electrification, as senior adviser to the Minister. Get to know the rest of Lecce’s crew.
REGULATORY ROUNDUP
Every Tuesday, we sum up the government’s latest proposals on the Regulatory Registry — where the nitty-gritty of policymaking is hammered out.
MORE UNITS — The proposal: Fine print for the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, circa 2024, which would among other things give the Minister of the day more regulation-making powers to remove zoning barriers that discourage additional units on a single lot, like basement, garden and laneway suites. Deadline for public feedback: October 23.
Context: Three units good, fourplexes bad — if you’re the government. As this newsletter first reported, the PCs draft version of a housing bill included fourplexes, but it was watered down after Cabinet (namely DOUG FORD) “lost their shit”. Global News later got documents confirming my scoop.
More Planning Act changes — Proposal: To “authorize landowners to stipulate pay-on-demand surety bonds to be used to secure municipal obligations that are conditions of land-use planning approvals. A wider acceptance of pay-on-demand surety bonds may help homebuilders to free up funds for housing projects.” Deadline: October 16.
TOC TALK — Proposal: More powers for the Infrastructure Minister to spur Transit-Oriented Communities. Specifically: To “provide statutory authority for agreements entered into by the Province, municipality and building partner, that, in the Minister's opinion, support implementation of Transit-Oriented Communities, to be registered on title.” Deadline: October 8.
CLEANING, CLOCKED — Proposal: To amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act to “require certain workplace parties to ensure that records of cleaning of washroom facilities are posted.” It’s part of Bill 190, a.k.a. the Working for Workers Act 5.0. Deadline: October 18.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Northern Development Minister GREG RICKFORD (Kenora-Rainy River)…NDP Long-Term Care critic WAYNE GATES (Niagara Falls).
🍽️ ON THE MENU: Beef brisket with potatoes and vegetables is on special for lunch.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 7 days until the Plowing Match in Lindsay…27 days until the House reconvenes.