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The ‘Welcome Back Doug Party’ being held in protest of Bill 23

February 16, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

When is a protest not a protest? How do you attract the largest number of people to join a not-protest protest?

You have a party. Let there be music and sing-alongs. Let there be comedy and entertainment. You stage the Welcome Back, Doug Party and invite everyone to come by checking out the website: www.welcomebackdoug.com

Best of all, let there be information about the Doug Ford Conservative government here in Ontario from diverse authorities so that we clearly understand how dire are his plans for this beautiful, rich, fertile province and what we can do about it.

Before all that, though, the MPPs are coming back to Queen’s Park to begin to create the perils they have in mind and after 10 weeks off, on February 21. Immediately, they will want to proceed with Bill 23, the destruction of Green Belt areas, strip municipalities of their right to charge developers fees and their authorities over their own jurisdictions. All that is just to begin. The infringement into the Green Belt, heretofore promised protection from development by Doug Ford will destroy valuable and vulnerable wetlands, farmlands and woodlands.

The Environmental Defence: www.environmentaldefence.ca would like to invite you attend Question Period at Queen’s Park on February 21 with a view to repealing Bill 23 and declaring, “Hands off the Green Belt!”

Entrance to Queen’s Park viewing Gallery has very tight security with a stringent list of barriers for people hoping to be passed into the Gallery. Be sure to arrive by 9:30 to have time to clear security.

Herewith all the the details from Environmental Defence (ED), who are organizing people for access to the viewing Gallery for Question time: “RSVP here:https://partner-wellingtonwaterwatchers.nationbuilder.com/fill_the_gallery_queen_s_park?utm_campaign=greenbelt_fill_the_gal&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wellingtonwaterwatchers to have your name on the guest list to allow smooth passing through security. 
“We will provide more information about the location of meeting closer to the event.”

Organizer of the Welcome Back Doug Party, Susan Berry told the Citizen, “We moved the party to Saturday, February 25. MPP’s will open the legislature on February 21, beginning by reintroducing new bills and holding a press conference about how their Green Belt promise to maintain the Green Belt and protect it from development is now betrayed by further housing bills, by Bill 38.

“Bill 23 has been passed,” she grieved, keeping in mind that other of Ford’s Bills have been undone. One way to oppose his policies is the appeal to the Federal government. They haven’t intervened officially. Dufferin County and Rouge Valley Park is the land set aside to be an airport. The feds have suggested they will intervene.”

Groups of people have formed to watch over the lands and keep the Ford government in check, like thewww.greenbeltguardian.com . They are sending out land scouts to check on signs of aggression in some areas the province has proposed for development. The hope is that groups will form ways to stop; will unions call a strike ? CUPE are opposed to Bill 23.

The Welcome Back, Doug protest party is about the whole agenda to sell off tracts of the Green Belt for development and more than that.

Ms. Berry named a few more matters: “There are Indigenous issues. They ignored their duty to consult with Indigenous people.”

The Ontario Health Coalition has issued, in part, some of the concerns with regards to Ford’s plans for Ontario’s Health Care: “Left unchallenged, [he will] create a crisis and privatize.” Provincial schemes will destroy public health care: Health Coalition called on Trudeau to step up and show real leadership.

“Today, the Coalition warned that the unprecedented health care crisis is, in significant part, due to our governments cutting and privatizing public hospital services beyond all reason and evidence. Public hospitals are a target because they represent billions in public funding that vested interests want for themselves in profits, tax giveaways and other redirections of that funding. This has resulted in suffering that is now being exploited, in a horrible irony, to force through privatization. No province has cut its public hospitals more radically than Ontario, but all of Canada ranks very low among our peer nations. Here are the facts:

• See number of hospital beds left after downsizing and cuts, by province.
• See number of hospital beds left in Canada compared to the OECD.”

“It is a party,” Ms. Berry emphasized. “All the other protests have been angry and this may have kept people away. So, we thought – let’s use humour and music to attract them and still talk about the problems.”

Susan Berry is a lawyer of family law. “The purpose is to try to get more people out who are not happy with the Ford government. It’s about we haven’t been reaching out to people – make a good time of it.”

This party is about everything – Indigenous concerns, health care, the environment and democracy. This event is to connect people who are interested in doing something to stop Ford’s policies.

There will be some indigenous speakers and the government’s lack of consultation. Privatization of health care.

A speaker from Environment Defence, will tell us why Bill 23 is not about affordable housing. A representative from CUPE will address the attack on democracy, for tax payers and the average citizen. Withal, comedy and singing participation to also have fun. 

“Let’s sing together to Mother Earth – Fire Fire choir is doing a version of Ciao Bella Doug Ford

www.welcomebackdoug.cominvites us all to compose a musical entry and make it about Doug.

“It’s been dark times,” Susan Berry commented. “Another 3.5 years of this regime to come. It is about everything – long term care – disability rights – people come and bring their own concerns – also in music to the website . Some may even perform. It’ll be fun and entertaining. As for helping to understand what else is going on, she promised. “They wont be leaving without knowing what to do. My intention was to go down and have a clean humorous poke at Doug and have some fun. There will even be ASL translators; chairs to sit; This is for all ages and stages.”

Leading with an agenda press conference on February 21, with information how to get there. There will be toilets, all that.

“I am serious about stopping this,” Ms. Berry confirmed. “My dad’s in long term care and my child is at school. To see the green belt all turned into pavement is not happening anymore.” 

Local resident and well respected environmentalist, Harvey Kolodny noted about the existing huge cataract surgery at Kensington that “Doug wants to make it private.”

“We’re still fighting appeal for Bill124. There’s a potential bill for $8m has to catch up on payments for civil servants. The Financial Accountability Office says he has the money.”

He continued to say he had his hernia done at Shouldice; it’s a four day process.

“In a regular hospital here, you’re out the same day. Private institutes protect their interests.

“Susan’s trying to take a more positive view,” was his comment. A lot more feasible than Doug. She wants to get people to comewww.welcomebackdoug.com and see there are better ways.” 

Note the address of the event on the website.

Thinking of how to push forward, he considered, “When we did a protest in front of Sylvia’s [Jones Conservative MPP] office, we could engage a number of people, alternating. Two dozen to make the commitment. Keep an on Environment Defence –the ministry is approaching people close to the potential 413 route.

Just to understand more fully why as many of us as possible would go to Queen’s Park for question period, would attend the Welcome Back, Doug Party, allow us to offer you the following link from Environmental Defence about Bill 23 and more. 

Take some time and read the whole thing. https://rb.gy/sgknz1

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