Where to catch the civic fireworks

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CIVIC SWEETENER — Amid a volatile relationship with municipalities, Premier DOUG FORD is offering a carrot: an unexpected $1.2 billion to spur housing and strong-mayor powers for another 21 cities and towns.

Ford detailed the news in his speech to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual conference in London, unveiling a new three-year, $1.2-billion “Building Faster Fund” that will reward 50 municipalities for hitting their provincially-imposed housing targets.

“Think of it like this. If you get an ‘A’, you become eligible for funding. If you do worse than an ‘A’, you don’t,” Ford explained. “But here’s the best part. Municipalities that exceed their target — that do better than 100 per cent — get a bonus.”

The fine print: The cash is divvied up based on a municipality’s share of the province’s overall housing targets and their performance. For instance, if a city’s target is 150,000 homes by 2031, that’s 10 per cent of the province’s overall goal of 1.5 mi…