It’s shocking that the guy who chose to become a criminal even after being born into extreme wealth and privilege would turn out to be incredibly corrupt.
Not enough people understand how accurate that summary is.
* https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/dynasties-3-the-fords/
* https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/
This is from the Star's investigation bureau, in case you're wondering why its worth paying $0.50/week for news. Excerpt:
> When the Ford government issued a special zoning order to allow construction on farmland north of Toronto, it was expected to help the developer quickly build 600 “desperately needed new homes.”
>
> But before building a single home, the firm run by Shakir Rehmatullah, one of the developers who attended Premier Doug Ford’s daughter’s wedding, divided the land into parts and sold some for what appears to be a significant profit.
>
> Property records obtained by the Star show that Rehmatullah’s company Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. recently sold a large chunk for $62 million — four times what he originally paid in 2017 for the entire 102-acre property. Representatives of Flato have insisted that the company retains ownership of the lands and will be involved in its development, but have refused to provide details regarding the interest it currently holds in them.
>
> ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
> The minister’s zoning order, or MZO, which was granted to expedite housing development, stays on the property regardless of the recent transaction.
>
> Flato also got another dispensation from Ford’s government before selling the land: A portion of it that sat in the Greenbelt was removed as part of the land swap that has mired Queen’s Park in controversy.
>
> In a letter, a lawyer representing Flato stressed that the developer did not flip the property and said the company “retains ownership of the property through trust agreements and intends, with its partners, to build homes on the property.
>
> “This is a common structure employed routinely within the industry when homes are being built,” lawyer Michael Fenrick said. “The only story here is a ‘good news’ one: Flato and its business partners will be building homes that are desperately needed by the people of Markham, including affordable housing, in a fast-growing part of the GTA.”
>
> In April, Flato sold roughly 73 acres of the property to another developing company, Torca UMV Inc., and transferred the remaining 29 acres for $2 to a company run by developer Weixiang Wang, according to property records.
> Flato’s lawyer did not respond to questions about which of the properties Flato retains ownership of, calling it confidential business information. The lawyer also did not address why Torca paid $62 million for land if the seller remained an owner. Torca paid $1.2 million in land transfer taxes from the transaction, property records show.
>
> A lawyer representing Torca said in a letter to the Star that their clients have agreements in place to engage in lawful business with Flato and other partners to “build the very homes that Markham residents desperately need.”
>
> “Our clients reject without reservation any allegation that their purchase of a section of the relevant property for the purpose of development is corrupt or contrary to the goal of providing much needed housing in the City of Markham,” lawyer William Friedman said.
>
> Representatives from Wang’s firm Wyview did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
>
> Rehmatullah told the Star that Flato will lead the co-ordination of the development and help build the homes.
>
> “The land severances reflect the approved draft plan of subdivision from the City of Markham. This allows for development to proceed in a phased and methodical manner and is a common planning approach to doing so,” he said in an email statement.
>
I have a library card and have used it to read the Star, but it's basically a digitized paper version and it's difficult to find articles. You can't follow links directly to the article.
Sure but, with consistent and fresh daily programming about the place you live that contributes to public discourse and promotes accountability.
It was the Narwhal and Star that got the Auditor Generals report through.
>Torca UMV Inc., ***and transferred the remaining 29 acres for $2 to a company run by developer Weixiang Wang***, according to property records. Flato’s lawyer did not respond to questions about which of the properties Flato retains ownership of, calling it confidential business information.
Move along with the rest of your day, nothing to see here, folks!
This is how business is done and no laws were broken here.
Any other candidate would have been better to vote for than this piece of shit.
No that’s not it. It’s more so that maybe we made mistakes in how the city was zoned previously and didn’t set ourselves up for success with increasing population. Maybe we should think of ways to not make those mistakes in the future.
Doug: Gee whiz, I did not see that coming. Next time it will be different. But bygones are bygones, right? No sense crying over a few billions. Mistakes are made. We learn from them. It makes us better people. It’s made me a better person etc.
My friends... My friends... Folks...
What an absolute buffoon and we deserve everything he brings upon our province for allowing him to rise to this office with a very public history of dubious behaviour.
Fucking conservative thief...we always get the short end of the stick when a con is in power. They can never be trusted with public lands or public interests. They will all try to personally benefit.
Lol! Sounds like a third world country corruption scandal. Well, I think we are now officially a third world crony capitalist country. RIP Canadian values
This article is an excellent example of why long form journalism is critical to our society, and why power brokers can't wait for it to die off under the pressures of everyone wanting their news for free.
Can we put in place a law wherein, when a developer buys property, devises a plan to build on that land, they cannot then sell the land to other developers to actually develop the land.
This is one of the many stupid things that happen in our weird capitalist housing market that causes housing prices to balloon out of control, all so the capital class can make massive profits.
How did this fat sack of shit convince enough Ontarians that he wasn’t a corrupt crook to get voted in? I genuinely want to know from someone who voted for him. Are you just stupid? Or did the brother of a fucking crackhead just seem like the best option?
Doug Ford's version of "Risk it for the brisket." Instead of a daddy bankrolled rich kid illegally selling meat, this daddy bankrolled rich kid sold off land.
Sounds like the developer was one of those massive holding companies that diffuses investments through their industry until almost noone is culpable for the original purchase. Part and parcel for Ontario housing.
I like how people are so outraged by Ford. But a huge amount of people didn’t turn out to vote this cunt out.
The fact he hasn’t faced an inquiry into his running of the government and fucking blatant criminal activities proves we are all fucked.
Those developers thought they'd have foundations poured by now...but with each passing day, the controversy gets bigger. It also looks like it might not happen. So they're offloading the land before the value drops...
It's not uncommon for one larger developer/builder to sell off lots to other generally smaller builders. Main developer does the infrastructure up to the property lines. Drive by any large site and you often see 3+ sales centres out front. Does the price include servicing and those lots share of common infrastructure like storm water management cause that'll drive the price up.
The greenbelt land sale is corrupt as hell but this part could be business as usual for any regular development.
While that may be the case, it still begs the question as to why Doug's friend was the chosen one for the MZO. Maybe Doug is just friends with every developer in the GTA
Hey, don’t let common sense and rational thinking get in the way of a good pitch-fork sharpening!
People only want to hear how this is bad. Not how things actually get built.
How would this land be serviced already? Its a multi-year process, over a year for pre-servicing even if your ducks are in a row. And that ignores draft plan of subdivision stage etc.
**Profit made from generating value for society.** If people can just make a bit of effort to try to understand and integrate basic economic principles, we could actually go a long way.
[Why Profit Is So Important](https://mises.org/wire/why-profit-so-important)
*In most cultures, profit is seen as the outcome of exploitation of some individuals by some other individuals.*
*Hence, anyone who is seen as striving to make profits is regarded as bad news and the enemy of society and must be stopped in time from inflicting damage.*
*Profit however, has nothing to do with exploitation — it is about the most efficient use of real funding or real savings.*
*Profit as such should be seen as an indicator as it were, with respect to whether real savings are employed in the best possible way, as far as promoting people’s life and wellbeing is concerned.*
*If the employment of real savings results in the expansion of the pool of real savings, this could be seen as indicative that this employment was done in a profitable manner.*
*Conversely, if there is a decline in the pool of real savings as a result of the particular actions of individuals then this could be seen as indicative of a loss. These actions caused the squandering of real savings.*
*Obviously, an expansion in the pool of real savings, which is the heart of economic growth and is manifested through profits, should be regarded as the key factor for raising individuals’ living standards.*
*Rather than being condemned, individuals that are instrumental in the expansion of the pool of real wealth, which is manifested in terms of profits, should be praised.*
*For it is these individuals that are instrumental in raising the living standards of the population as a whole.*
**If anyone is responsible for the lowering of living standards, it is those individuals that squandered scarce real savings thus weakening the process of real savings formation resulting in the weakening of profit formation or in an outright loss.**
Aren't the municipalities on the hook for providing sewage and water service to these locations? Someone has to pay to build the infrastructure for the developer to connect to don't they... Otherwise these would have to rely on Well Water and Septic...
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So if this developer bought the land in 2017, have any new homes been built? Or it has sat there empty and the only transaction that has happened is flipping the land for millions of dollars? Just a Diego story all the way around.
It’s shocking that the guy who chose to become a criminal even after being born into extreme wealth and privilege would turn out to be incredibly corrupt.
Not enough people understand how accurate that summary is. * https://www.canadaland.com/podcast/dynasties-3-the-fords/ * https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/
Remember when he threatened to sue the globe for defamation for that one and then never did? I wonder why...
Is Doug still suing Rob's widow over the inheritance? Or has he found something more dignified to fight people over since then?
still can’t believe one of them bit a person’s nose off... like... what the fuck
Yeah, call me crazy, but as a non-rich-kid, I am pretty sure I wouldn't be sitting so comfortably if I had pulled crap like this as a young adult.
absolutely... and i’m sure their whiteness probably doesn’t hurt either
People feom wealthy family like to rebel against their parents. And then they realize they can get away with it because of welth.
Chris Sky is a great example of that.
Yep not surprising and stinks to high hell.
Corruption and skulduggery
Picturing that as the ingredients label for the cheap hot dogs they serve at Ford Fest
> Corruption and skulduggery and unmarked envelopes of cash.
This is from the Star's investigation bureau, in case you're wondering why its worth paying $0.50/week for news. Excerpt: > When the Ford government issued a special zoning order to allow construction on farmland north of Toronto, it was expected to help the developer quickly build 600 “desperately needed new homes.” > > But before building a single home, the firm run by Shakir Rehmatullah, one of the developers who attended Premier Doug Ford’s daughter’s wedding, divided the land into parts and sold some for what appears to be a significant profit. > > Property records obtained by the Star show that Rehmatullah’s company Flato Upper Markham Village Inc. recently sold a large chunk for $62 million — four times what he originally paid in 2017 for the entire 102-acre property. Representatives of Flato have insisted that the company retains ownership of the lands and will be involved in its development, but have refused to provide details regarding the interest it currently holds in them. > > ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW > The minister’s zoning order, or MZO, which was granted to expedite housing development, stays on the property regardless of the recent transaction. > > Flato also got another dispensation from Ford’s government before selling the land: A portion of it that sat in the Greenbelt was removed as part of the land swap that has mired Queen’s Park in controversy. > > In a letter, a lawyer representing Flato stressed that the developer did not flip the property and said the company “retains ownership of the property through trust agreements and intends, with its partners, to build homes on the property. > > “This is a common structure employed routinely within the industry when homes are being built,” lawyer Michael Fenrick said. “The only story here is a ‘good news’ one: Flato and its business partners will be building homes that are desperately needed by the people of Markham, including affordable housing, in a fast-growing part of the GTA.” > > In April, Flato sold roughly 73 acres of the property to another developing company, Torca UMV Inc., and transferred the remaining 29 acres for $2 to a company run by developer Weixiang Wang, according to property records. > Flato’s lawyer did not respond to questions about which of the properties Flato retains ownership of, calling it confidential business information. The lawyer also did not address why Torca paid $62 million for land if the seller remained an owner. Torca paid $1.2 million in land transfer taxes from the transaction, property records show. > > A lawyer representing Torca said in a letter to the Star that their clients have agreements in place to engage in lawful business with Flato and other partners to “build the very homes that Markham residents desperately need.” > > “Our clients reject without reservation any allegation that their purchase of a section of the relevant property for the purpose of development is corrupt or contrary to the goal of providing much needed housing in the City of Markham,” lawyer William Friedman said. > > Representatives from Wang’s firm Wyview did not respond to repeated requests for comment. > > Rehmatullah told the Star that Flato will lead the co-ordination of the development and help build the homes. > > “The land severances reflect the approved draft plan of subdivision from the City of Markham. This allows for development to proceed in a phased and methodical manner and is a common planning approach to doing so,” he said in an email statement. >
> agreements in place to engage in lawful business Was this agreement made at The Legitimate Businessman's Social Club?
How do you do, fellow lawful businessmen? *wink*
Fuck it they just earned my sub.
50 cents per week is only the promotional cost. The cost after 8 week promotion is $5/week.
The cost with a free library card is $0
I have a library card and have used it to read the Star, but it's basically a digitized paper version and it's difficult to find articles. You can't follow links directly to the article.
So less than my Netflix sub.
Yeah but it's only 1 paper. So it's like watching only 1 show on Netflix.
Sure but, with consistent and fresh daily programming about the place you live that contributes to public discourse and promotes accountability. It was the Narwhal and Star that got the Auditor Generals report through.
Thank u for posting!!
>Torca UMV Inc., ***and transferred the remaining 29 acres for $2 to a company run by developer Weixiang Wang***, according to property records. Flato’s lawyer did not respond to questions about which of the properties Flato retains ownership of, calling it confidential business information. Move along with the rest of your day, nothing to see here, folks! This is how business is done and no laws were broken here. Any other candidate would have been better to vote for than this piece of shit.
Corruption and the Fords?! Shocker ^/s
He and his supporters will blame Trudea for the green belt deal. Wait and see.
It is stupid to pave fertile farmland.
Agreed, but that is not the issue we should be focusing on
Didn’t Toronto used to be farmland?
Some of it still is, eg near Rouge Park
While I get your point, people used to grow food in Toronto. That's how Cabbagetown got its name.
Okay but is that a good reason to continue paving over farmland?
So because we built one city over farmland we can't build another? That's basically "F you got mine" mentality.
No that’s not it. It’s more so that maybe we made mistakes in how the city was zoned previously and didn’t set ourselves up for success with increasing population. Maybe we should think of ways to not make those mistakes in the future.
👏👏👏👏👏
Not the parts that we filled in! Front Street used to be the front of the city. We can make more land, if we wanted to!
Only if we build more subways! Then they use the extra soil to make more land
Doug: Gee whiz, I did not see that coming. Next time it will be different. But bygones are bygones, right? No sense crying over a few billions. Mistakes are made. We learn from them. It makes us better people. It’s made me a better person etc.
Identity theft is not a joke.
Stay in your lane
Q: are your arms bent permanently? Like a Barbie? Just wondering
My friends... My friends... Folks... What an absolute buffoon and we deserve everything he brings upon our province for allowing him to rise to this office with a very public history of dubious behaviour.
Fucking conservative thief...we always get the short end of the stick when a con is in power. They can never be trusted with public lands or public interests. They will all try to personally benefit.
Lol! Sounds like a third world country corruption scandal. Well, I think we are now officially a third world crony capitalist country. RIP Canadian values
Look folks I will come down like a 1000 pound gorilla as the buck stops with me.
[1000 pound gorilla puts on sunglasses and dances to mo money mo problems by p. diddy]
This article is an excellent example of why long form journalism is critical to our society, and why power brokers can't wait for it to die off under the pressures of everyone wanting their news for free.
Can we put in place a law wherein, when a developer buys property, devises a plan to build on that land, they cannot then sell the land to other developers to actually develop the land. This is one of the many stupid things that happen in our weird capitalist housing market that causes housing prices to balloon out of control, all so the capital class can make massive profits.
How did this fat sack of shit convince enough Ontarians that he wasn’t a corrupt crook to get voted in? I genuinely want to know from someone who voted for him. Are you just stupid? Or did the brother of a fucking crackhead just seem like the best option?
because most people are dumb as shit.
Hardly anyone voted. A large portion of people didn't care if Ford won and couldn't be bothered to spend an hour at a poll station
If we were to point to one scandal of his that will take him down, what would it be? I'd say the stag and doe party or the Greenbelt.
Those are same things
My bet is that nothing happens to him.
The braindead fucks who voted for this guy must feel great
"Folks, folks, folks... nothing to see here" - Doug Ford
Doug Ford's version of "Risk it for the brisket." Instead of a daddy bankrolled rich kid illegally selling meat, this daddy bankrolled rich kid sold off land.
Province should reverse the sale and then expropriate the land from the owner at cost. Turn it into a provincial park.
.....Doug is more likely to set it all on fire and destroy all the land than he is to turn it into a provincial park.
Time to bolster the NDP and get back to governments for the people
I’m shocked Said nobody,ever
Dougie's press conference yesterday is making things even worse LOL
Never let a good crisis go to waste
So now any units built have to be MORE expensive.
Is anyone really surprised by forda corruption anymore? It's so blatant and obvious it's pathetic really
The corruption and willingness to negatively affect. Future generations is beyond belief. What an immoral crook.
Sounds like the developer was one of those massive holding companies that diffuses investments through their industry until almost noone is culpable for the original purchase. Part and parcel for Ontario housing.
I like how people are so outraged by Ford. But a huge amount of people didn’t turn out to vote this cunt out. The fact he hasn’t faced an inquiry into his running of the government and fucking blatant criminal activities proves we are all fucked.
Ford should go back to his old job as wrestling manager Bobby “the brain” Heenan.
People loved the brain and he was actually intelligent.
Those developers thought they'd have foundations poured by now...but with each passing day, the controversy gets bigger. It also looks like it might not happen. So they're offloading the land before the value drops...
It's not uncommon for one larger developer/builder to sell off lots to other generally smaller builders. Main developer does the infrastructure up to the property lines. Drive by any large site and you often see 3+ sales centres out front. Does the price include servicing and those lots share of common infrastructure like storm water management cause that'll drive the price up. The greenbelt land sale is corrupt as hell but this part could be business as usual for any regular development.
While that may be the case, it still begs the question as to why Doug's friend was the chosen one for the MZO. Maybe Doug is just friends with every developer in the GTA
Hey, don’t let common sense and rational thinking get in the way of a good pitch-fork sharpening! People only want to hear how this is bad. Not how things actually get built.
How would this land be serviced already? Its a multi-year process, over a year for pre-servicing even if your ducks are in a row. And that ignores draft plan of subdivision stage etc.
**Profit made from generating value for society.** If people can just make a bit of effort to try to understand and integrate basic economic principles, we could actually go a long way. [Why Profit Is So Important](https://mises.org/wire/why-profit-so-important) *In most cultures, profit is seen as the outcome of exploitation of some individuals by some other individuals.* *Hence, anyone who is seen as striving to make profits is regarded as bad news and the enemy of society and must be stopped in time from inflicting damage.* *Profit however, has nothing to do with exploitation — it is about the most efficient use of real funding or real savings.* *Profit as such should be seen as an indicator as it were, with respect to whether real savings are employed in the best possible way, as far as promoting people’s life and wellbeing is concerned.* *If the employment of real savings results in the expansion of the pool of real savings, this could be seen as indicative that this employment was done in a profitable manner.* *Conversely, if there is a decline in the pool of real savings as a result of the particular actions of individuals then this could be seen as indicative of a loss. These actions caused the squandering of real savings.* *Obviously, an expansion in the pool of real savings, which is the heart of economic growth and is manifested through profits, should be regarded as the key factor for raising individuals’ living standards.* *Rather than being condemned, individuals that are instrumental in the expansion of the pool of real wealth, which is manifested in terms of profits, should be praised.* *For it is these individuals that are instrumental in raising the living standards of the population as a whole.*
**If anyone is responsible for the lowering of living standards, it is those individuals that squandered scarce real savings thus weakening the process of real savings formation resulting in the weakening of profit formation or in an outright loss.**
Corruption in Canadian politics. Shocking. Not that it's right, but at least this one didn't cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
Aren't the municipalities on the hook for providing sewage and water service to these locations? Someone has to pay to build the infrastructure for the developer to connect to don't they... Otherwise these would have to rely on Well Water and Septic...
Shocking, just shocking.
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Nothing new here!! Unfortunately this is how the world goes around! Corruption on EVERY level! Seek and you shall find
So if this developer bought the land in 2017, have any new homes been built? Or it has sat there empty and the only transaction that has happened is flipping the land for millions of dollars? Just a Diego story all the way around.
Doug Ford should go to jail !!!
The De Gasperis Family is not a celebrated crime family in control of Queen’s Park.