Since coming to power in 2018, the Ford government has proven itself time and time again to be a poor steward of the public good. The list of scandals and shortcomings runs long, from the Greenbelt giveaway to attacks on collective bargaining to education cuts. Moreover, the government is committed to getting its way no matter what, and it’s prepared to shred norms and steamroll opposition in service of its goals.
The most recent victim of Ford’s heavy-handed approach to governance is Ontario Place. From the outset, the plan for the iconic site was a shambles, a blatant scheme to further privatize public space, selling out the interests of the many for the profits of the few. How else do you explain slapdash plans for a private upscale spa accompanied by a massive parking garage?
From the start, opponents of Ford’s plan — such as the organization Ontario Place for All — have been fighting to ensure Ontario Place is first and foremost a public space developed in the interest of the public good. Now their fight has gotten tougher, as the Progressive Conservative government, which surely knows its plan for the site is a mess, has introduced legislation designed to fast-track the redevelopment of Ontario Place, giving itself power to ignore environmental protections, zoning restrictions, public consultations, best practices for building projects, and heritage laws. It’s also bullying the City of Toronto into rolling over and letting it expropriate land for the project.
The Ford government is cursed with the overconfidence of the mediocre. It’s certain of itself in the way only the least capable and most short-sighted tend to be. When a government adopts such a posture, it views opposition, checks and balances, and even basic rules as antithetical to its vision. That’s why Ford and his team used the notwithstanding clause to try to undermine labour rights and prevent a school strike. It’s why the government ran roughshod over basic protocols with its Greenbelt plan. And it’s why it’s giving itself special powers to force through its Ontario Place plan as fast as it can.
Attentive observers will note that when governments — especially those of the likes of Doug Ford’s — let their apparent contempt for the public, democracy, and good governance direct their plans, it tends to end badly. Indeed, it’s gone that way for Ford already. He had to walk back his use of the notwithstanding clause against education workers, and his government is under police investigation for its Greenbelt shenanigans. It’s reasonable to expect that past will be prologue once more for Ford and his team and that the Ontario Place redevelopment will end poorly.
Ford and company will justify the recent norm-busting law as necessary because it’s in the service of “getting things done.” Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma has already done just that, claiming in the legislature that the legislation is meant to “finally, after over 30 years of debate in this House, get it done and bring Ontario Place back to life.” Of course, implicit in the claim is an admission that the government cannot navigate the environmental, public, heritage, or planning rules meant to ensure that developments are undertaken in sound ways and in the public interest. Implicit in the claim is an admission that the Ford government expects to face opposition it can’t manage or convince. It can only strong-arm its way to getting what it wants.
Politicians, civic groups, and citizens opposed to Ford’s Ontario Place plan aren’t going to give up their fight. Ontario Place for All, for instance, is fighting Ford in the courts right now. And with the government under intense scrutiny — more than ever before — the public may be inclined to view its dealings with the skepticism they deserve and then demand better. And therein lies the hope that the public, in the end, will assert its right to be a part of self-government and hold the Ford government to a higher standard than it holds itself.
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