Doug Ford stacks the deck against everyday people in disputes with wealthy developers

Jeff Burch, Ontario NDP Municipal Affairs critic, released the following statement in response to news that Doug Ford is dismantling the Local Planning Appeal Support Centre:

“Doug Ford is once again doing favours for his friends by dismantling an office set up to help everyday Ontarians navigate the complex planning appeals process. The Local Planning Appeal Support Centre gave local communities a fighting chance when facing off against wealthy developers trying to ram unreasonable proposals through the municipal planning process.

The Liberals let people down by dragging their heels on long-promised reforms to the planning appeals process. Now the Conservatives are making things even worse for folks by stacking the deck against them, giving easier wins to powerful developers.

This is only going to make it harder for everyday Ontarians to protect their quality of life when developers try to take advantage of people to pad their already-deep pockets. Everyday Ontarians deserve to have a say in how their communities grow, and they shouldn’t have to face wealthy developers and their teams of high-priced experts on their own.”