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Northern Light said:
In my experience with Nate, I've found him pleasant, responsive and inquisitive; and he is a policy wonk with a great education.

That said; his literal understanding of how to play the game of politics does seem challenged at times.

I think he's genuinely hurt when people don't seem to recognize his value; and he lets it show.

The former is understandable, big ego or not; but the latter is real problem when you need a strong network of backers.
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It seems like a pattern where he rubs people the wrong way, and they go out of their way to spite him.
 
I like Nate as well. He's smart and well-informed. But I don't think he has the personality or skills to lead a political party, and especially not to lead a political party to victory in a general election.
 
Undead said:
Not a fan of Dougie, but he said they recouped the cost.
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He probably did/will - and while Dougie should've been in jail for more than one thing - and is still killing Ontarians ... this whole jet thing seems to be completely overblown. All the stuff that's happened and THIS is what finally sticks???

It's certainly fun to watch though.

And it is a bit odd that they the paperwork hasn't been made public.
 
Ford friend’s company settles $500M air rights expropriation dispute with Metrolinx - The Trillium

Ford friend’s company settles $500M air rights expropriation dispute with Metrolinx​

Government won’t say how much taxpayer money went to Carmine Nigro’s development group
Metrolinx has settled a half-billion-dollar expropriation dispute with a development group that includes a close friend of Premier Doug Ford. The Ford government won’t say how much the case was settled for.

In 2024, Craft Kingsmen Rail (East) Corp. took Metrolinx to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), seeking compensation for the expropriation of what are known as air rights above rail lines in downtown Toronto. The company claimed Metrolinx owed it about $500 million. Metrolinx and the company reached a settlement, and the OLT case was closed late last year. The amount Metrolinx agreed to pay Craft Kingsmen is not public. “There has been a settlement in the matter. Metrolinx cannot provide further details on confidential settlements,” read a statement from the transit agency’s media relations team. A spokesperson for the premier’s office did not respond to The Trillium’s request for comment. It’s an unusual case for a few reasons. The amount Craft Kingsmen claimed, alone, made it exceptional, and air rights aren’t often separated from the land beneath them in Canada. Also, Craft Kingsmen didn’t own the air rights. It signed an agreement to buy the rights from two rail companies for $78.7 million, but hadn’t closed the deal by paying for them when they were expropriated. Craft Kingsmen Rail (East) Corp. was incorporated in September 2018 through a partnership between Craft Development and Kingsmen Group. Its directors include representatives from each development company, including Craft senior executive Carmine Nigro. Nigro is personally close to Ford. He sat at the premier’s table at the wedding reception of one of his daughters in 2022. Ford’s cabinet has also appointed Nigro chair of the Ontario Place Corporation, an inaugural board member of Invest Ontario and chair of the LCBO. Nigro is in frequent contact with Ford, according to emails he’s sent, obtained using the freedom of information system, and several well-placed sources who know the pair to be close. “Air rights” refers to the ownership of the space above a property. By owning a property’s air rights, a person or company controls the development rights to the space beginning at a certain height above the land below. The air rights at the heart of Craft Kingsmen’s case against Metrolinx are for about 35.5 acres of space above two sections of train tracks that connect to Union Station, including one a few blocks west and another a few blocks east. Metrolinx needed the rights to ensure safe railway operations, for projects associated with its plan to expand and electrify the GO train network, among other purposes, according to its lawyers’ filings to the OLT. Craft Kingsmen justified its $500 million claim by arguing it could have built highrise mixed-use developments in the space above the tracks.
Metrolinx pushed back hard. The characteristics of the expropriated air rights’ properties would make it “extremely difficult, if not impossible,” for towers to be built there, wrote Metrolinx’s lawyers.

“To say that constructing towers in the Expropriated Air Rights that begin at or in excess of 27 feet above the surrounding grades would be a challenge, is an understatement. The engineering, costing, constructability and operational challenges of developing towers in the air space above an active rail corridor when the surrounding lands are in many cases at grade differences in excess of 27 feet is extremely difficult, if not impossible.”​

—Metrolinx's legal counsel on why it rejected the development group’s claim that the air rights were worth $500 million, based on the value of mixed-use high density towers it claimed it could have built above the railway tracks.​
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One reason for this, Metrolinx’s lawyers wrote, is that the expropriated air rights do not begin until 27 feet above the rail lines, and the rails themselves are elevated in many places. They argued that this would require development in some places to begin 45 feet above its neighbouring properties, which Craft Kingsmen doesn’t own, and so wouldn’t be able to use to support a decking structure to build on. For these reasons and others, they argued there’s “no opportunity or pathway for constructing residential towers in the said air rights that would generate a profit for the developer.”
Some of the air rights Metrolinx expropriated are next to what’s known as the “Rail Deck,” a stretch of air rights above tracks that the City of Toronto has long considered for development. Craft Kingsmen used to be part of the group owning the air rights for the Rail Deck, but no longer is.
Craft Kingsmen reached an agreement to buy the 35.5 acres of air rights at issue in its case with Metrolinx from the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and The Toronto Terminals Railway Company Limited in 2018. Craft Kingsmen deferred paying and closing the deal twice, and had not completed the purchase by the time Metrolinx expropriated the air rights in 2021 and 2022.
Metrolinx’s lawyers argued that the company held off on completing the purchase “most likely … because it did not represent a good deal,” and they “were not worth the ($78.7 million) purchase price on the date of the expropriations.”
Metrolinx previously agreed to pay the railways the same amount for the expropriated air rights that Craft Kingsman agreed to buy them for — $78.7 million.

Ford government appointed allies to OLT, Metrolinx board​

The Ontario Land Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body that handles land-use disputes, often between developers and municipalities or stakeholders. While its mandate is to be arm’s-length, the Ford government controls who is appointed to it.
Ford’s cabinet appointed a “friend” of the premier, Marie Hubbard, to run the province’s land use tribunal in 2019. She stayed on as it transitioned into the OLT. Ford himself visited Hubbard on multiple occasions, well-placed sources have told The Trillium.
When Hubbard died in 2022, she was replaced by Michael Kraljevic, a longtime ally of Ford and his late brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
Ford’s cabinet also appointed Kraljevic to the board of Metrolinx in 2019, on which he served until his resignation in 2023.
The current chair of Metrolinx is Nick Simone, whom Ford has also called a "friend." Simone is president of the president of Pace Law Firm, a recipient of the province's Skills Development Fund.
Asked last summer about Nigro’s case against Metrolinx, Ford said, “We have a lot of people that are going to be suing Ontario, suing Canada, so on, so forth. I don’t get involved in that. I’ll let the courts deal with that.”
 
Ford government’s surveys detail failings of job training

Ford government’s internal surveys expose failures in disability job training program​

Ford’s plan to get Ontarians off social assistance and into jobs is failing those with complex disabilities, according to the province’s own research.

Premier Doug Ford’s controversial plan to move people with complex disabilities off social assistance and into jobs is being hailed as a success, despite the government’s own research that exposes failures.
A Ministry of Labour slide show presentation from late last year, obtained by the Star, details how the province’s new Employment Ontario model has led to clients being rushed into jobs before they are ready, while organizations report diminished capacity to provide specialized supports.
The ministry conducted two surveys, one for people with disabilities and one for employment-service providers, which identified more than a dozen barriers hurting outcomes. Yet despite the findings, the province has not changed the system.
The presentation, summarizing feedback from organizations, said service providers have been underfunded for 15 years, employers “don’t know how to support” workers with disabilities, and performance targets are pressuring agencies to place clients into jobs too quickly — even when those with “complex barriers” need more time to prepare.
One of the surveys also found opposition to a rule requiring jobs to be at least 20 hours a week to count as successful employment, despite advocates saying many people with disabilities cannot manage those hours.
Operating funding for employment providers “has not increased in 15 years,” one ministry slide stated, leaving agencies “unable to meet the needs” of clients with disabilities and “compromising service quality and outcomes.”
The slides, however, also suggest the ministry believes it has made some progress, outlining a shift toward a “people first” model focused on flexible, person‑directed supports and more equitable, needs‑based funding.
The government research involved more than 200 sector stakeholders and interviews with 31 people with disabilities about their experiences finding work through the Integrated Employment Services (IES) system.
The Star asked Labour Minister David Piccini’s office why the government conducted the surveys only to ignore the opinions it sought.
Piccini’s spokesperson did not directly answer the question.
Instead, Michel Figueredo said the program reached “full province-wide operation over the past year and is already helping connect thousands of people to the support they need to find and keep meaningful work, and we are building on that progress.
“Our government will continue listening, consulting and carefully assessing any potential changes to strengthen service delivery and improve employment outcomes,” Figueredo said.
Piccini’s office previously called its program a success, leading to roughly 390,000 jobs at 20 hours a week, a number that includes nearly 124,000 people who “self-identified” as disabled on the program’s intake assessment form. The disabilities on the assessments can range from the use of hearing aids to one’s level of hyperactivity.
The ministry did not say how long a worker had to be employed to be defined as working. Nor did it respond when asked if those employment numbers back up the survey complaints that people are rushed out of employment preparation programs and into jobs.
“The government is not listening,” said Mark Wafer, who helped write Canada’s 2024 disability employment strategy and employed people with disabilities as an owner of Tim Hortons restaurants.
“The new model is a disaster,” Wafer said. “The strategies the government put in place will undo all the work we have done over the past few decades.”
Ontario’s 2019 launch of the “integrated employment services” system (IES) took employment training for those on the Ontario Disability Support Program away from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, and merged it with training for people on Ontario Works benefits, who Wafer said have much different needs.
Instead of relying on the public servants, the Ford government hired third-party operators to oversee the program’s new rules for funding and contract renewals for the organizations that, for decades, provided employment training for people with disabilities.
A long-time Progressive Conservative supporter, Wafer calls the external oversight a “total waste of money.”
In a sector that is reliant on government money, Wafer is one of the few willing to speak out based on his years as an employer, but made clear that he was not speaking in his capacity as chair of Canadian Hearing Services (CHS), which closed its program in April after 81 years of service but still gets provincial funding for other programs. Its staff refused to be interviewed although a CHS note to its clients said the program could not continue because the current system fails to recognize the needs of people with complex disabilities.
Many leaders the Star contacted agreed with that assessment, but said they are silenced by non-disclosure agreements and, more recently, a “non-disparagement” media protocol issued by WCG Consulting International Ltd., the largest third-party operator.
After the Star began asking questions, WCG reminded organizations of “Section A8.3,” which requires program leaders to ensure “their employees do not publicly disparage” the company, the Employment Ontario program or “the province.”
WCG oversees Ontario’s most populated areas including Peel and York regions, Ottawa and Toronto. Despite launching in Canada more than 30 years ago, WCG is now owned by Australia’s APM Group, which has minority U.S. investment from the Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm.
The ministry transferred $224 million to WCG in 2024-2025, according to the public accounts. At least part of that money is used to disburse funding to employment services providers but when asked, the ministry did not provide the breakdown, nor did WCG.
Some of the third-party operators are not-for-profit or fall under municipal governance. They all uphold the ministry rules — including job targets — and award contracts based on the success of service providers meeting those requirements.
Along with WCG, a subsidiary of the U.K. based Serco Group received $73.8 million in transfers from the ministry in the previous fiscal year, according to public accounts. Serco Canada did not respond to repeated questions.
 
thettctransitfanatic said:
Ford government’s surveys detail failings of job training

Ford government’s internal surveys expose failures in disability job training program​

Ford’s plan to get Ontarians off social assistance and into jobs is failing those with complex disabilities, according to the province’s own research.

Premier Doug Ford’s controversial plan to move people with complex disabilities off social assistance and into jobs is being hailed as a success, despite the government’s own research that exposes failures.
A Ministry of Labour slide show presentation from late last year, obtained by the Star, details how the province’s new Employment Ontario model has led to clients being rushed into jobs before they are ready, while organizations report diminished capacity to provide specialized supports.
The ministry conducted two surveys, one for people with disabilities and one for employment-service providers, which identified more than a dozen barriers hurting outcomes. Yet despite the findings, the province has not changed the system.
The presentation, summarizing feedback from organizations, said service providers have been underfunded for 15 years, employers “don’t know how to support” workers with disabilities, and performance targets are pressuring agencies to place clients into jobs too quickly — even when those with “complex barriers” need more time to prepare.
One of the surveys also found opposition to a rule requiring jobs to be at least 20 hours a week to count as successful employment, despite advocates saying many people with disabilities cannot manage those hours.
Operating funding for employment providers “has not increased in 15 years,” one ministry slide stated, leaving agencies “unable to meet the needs” of clients with disabilities and “compromising service quality and outcomes.”
The slides, however, also suggest the ministry believes it has made some progress, outlining a shift toward a “people first” model focused on flexible, person‑directed supports and more equitable, needs‑based funding.
The government research involved more than 200 sector stakeholders and interviews with 31 people with disabilities about their experiences finding work through the Integrated Employment Services (IES) system.
The Star asked Labour Minister David Piccini’s office why the government conducted the surveys only to ignore the opinions it sought.
Piccini’s spokesperson did not directly answer the question.
Instead, Michel Figueredo said the program reached “full province-wide operation over the past year and is already helping connect thousands of people to the support they need to find and keep meaningful work, and we are building on that progress.
“Our government will continue listening, consulting and carefully assessing any potential changes to strengthen service delivery and improve employment outcomes,” Figueredo said.
Piccini’s office previously called its program a success, leading to roughly 390,000 jobs at 20 hours a week, a number that includes nearly 124,000 people who “self-identified” as disabled on the program’s intake assessment form. The disabilities on the assessments can range from the use of hearing aids to one’s level of hyperactivity.
The ministry did not say how long a worker had to be employed to be defined as working. Nor did it respond when asked if those employment numbers back up the survey complaints that people are rushed out of employment preparation programs and into jobs.
“The government is not listening,” said Mark Wafer, who helped write Canada’s 2024 disability employment strategy and employed people with disabilities as an owner of Tim Hortons restaurants.
“The new model is a disaster,” Wafer said. “The strategies the government put in place will undo all the work we have done over the past few decades.”
Ontario’s 2019 launch of the “integrated employment services” system (IES) took employment training for those on the Ontario Disability Support Program away from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, and merged it with training for people on Ontario Works benefits, who Wafer said have much different needs.
Instead of relying on the public servants, the Ford government hired third-party operators to oversee the program’s new rules for funding and contract renewals for the organizations that, for decades, provided employment training for people with disabilities.
A long-time Progressive Conservative supporter, Wafer calls the external oversight a “total waste of money.”
In a sector that is reliant on government money, Wafer is one of the few willing to speak out based on his years as an employer, but made clear that he was not speaking in his capacity as chair of Canadian Hearing Services (CHS), which closed its program in April after 81 years of service but still gets provincial funding for other programs. Its staff refused to be interviewed although a CHS note to its clients said the program could not continue because the current system fails to recognize the needs of people with complex disabilities.
Many leaders the Star contacted agreed with that assessment, but said they are silenced by non-disclosure agreements and, more recently, a “non-disparagement” media protocol issued by WCG Consulting International Ltd., the largest third-party operator.
After the Star began asking questions, WCG reminded organizations of “Section A8.3,” which requires program leaders to ensure “their employees do not publicly disparage” the company, the Employment Ontario program or “the province.”
WCG oversees Ontario’s most populated areas including Peel and York regions, Ottawa and Toronto. Despite launching in Canada more than 30 years ago, WCG is now owned by Australia’s APM Group, which has minority U.S. investment from the Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm.
The ministry transferred $224 million to WCG in 2024-2025, according to the public accounts. At least part of that money is used to disburse funding to employment services providers but when asked, the ministry did not provide the breakdown, nor did WCG.
Some of the third-party operators are not-for-profit or fall under municipal governance. They all uphold the ministry rules — including job targets — and award contracts based on the success of service providers meeting those requirements.
Along with WCG, a subsidiary of the U.K. based Serco Group received $73.8 million in transfers from the ministry in the previous fiscal year, according to public accounts. Serco Canada did not respond to repeated questions.
Click to expand...
Tl,dr: They don't get it. And are incapable of getting it.

Jobs are not the solution to everyone's life, let alone those with disabilities. And in an economy that requires a degree of expendability and failure in order to work. It would be better if government acts as a stepping stone to help those who want jobs that they want to do instead. And not as launch pad that shoots them into the unknown hoping something will stick.

(...better yet, a living income. But that's a subject non grata here...so I'll stick with the stepping stone instead. >.< )
 
Question, I see Canadians out there blaming Carney for bill C-75 which is labeled catch and release by Conservatives. But I hardly see any Conservatives blaming the Crown Attorneys or Prosecutors who prosecute the criminal cases. Much like Americans who blame their District Attorney for sending suspects home with prior convictions in the U.S. in Canada, prosecutors are provincially responsible btw.
 
UtakataNoAnnex said:
Tl,dr: They don't get it. And are incapable of getting it.

Jobs are not the solution to everyone's life, let alone those with disabilities. And in an economy that requires a degree of expendability and failure in order to work. It would be better if government acts as a stepping stone to help those who want jobs that they want to do instead. And not as launch pad that shoots them into the unknown hoping something will stick.

(...better yet, a living income. But that's a subject non grata here...so I'll stick with the stepping stone instead. >.< )
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I think a well-run disability job training program would be good. That's not mutually exclusive with universal basic income.

nfitz said:
THIS is what finally sticks???
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I don't get it either, but I guess optics matter lol.

----------------------------------

In unrelated news, Conestoga College clownery exposed:
 
urbanclient said:
I think a well-run disability job training program would be good. That's not mutually exclusive with universal basic income.
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No, you are right. I mean...

0fc.gif


<3
 
Came across this on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/1t7vmc7/leading_american_bank_would_be_a_major
Commenter

"Records held by the Ontario Lobbying Registry show Nieuport Aviation actively lobbies the Ford government. One of its lobbyists is Mark Lawson, who works for a company called Anthem Advisory and is a former Progressive Conservative staff member who held numerous chief of staff positions, according to his LinkedIn account. He also worked as the vice president of communications and external relations for Therme Canada — the company behind the controversial spa at Ontario Place."
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From the article:
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/08/news/billy-bishop-airport-jp-morgan-nieuport

In response to questions about its ownership, the company said the following: “To clarify, Nieuport Aviation is owned by institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Nieuport Aviation has been the passenger terminal partner at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport since 2015.”

The institutional investor that owns Nieuport Aviation is a group called the Infrastructure Investments Fund. It is registered in the Cayman Islands. A former J.P. Morgan banker, Hai-Gi Li, sits on the board of Nieuport Aviation. A 2023 document from J.P. Morganalso lists Nieuport Aviation under its portfolio/operating companies roster.

In an unrelated investigation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that a J.P. Morgan subsidiary is an affiliate of the Infrastructure Investments Fund and the relationship “undermines any potential for independence between the two entities.” That ruling included labelling the airport as affiliated with J.P. Morgan, according to US nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.
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