Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
The long running drama between Anthony Pullano and Magna’s community relations person, Steve Hinder, comes to Court tomorrow (20 November 2018) in front of a real live jury.
Four years ago Pullano claims he was assaulted by Hinder, a former police officer, who allegedly punched him in the chest, dislodging his pacemaker. Pullano was taken to hospital. The Auroran newspaper tells us his injuries led:
“to a “deterioration” in health including “loss of heart function, loss of sexual function, a loss of right hand function, and chronic pain and inflammation in his right hand and/or right arm.”
Doesn’t sound good.
Pullano pursued Hinder through the criminal courts for assault but the Crown concluded in May of this year there was no prospect of a conviction and the assault charges against Hinder were withdrawn.
Understandably, Pullano is unhappy. Undaunted, he decides to press ahead with his civil action against Hinder where he is, apparently, claiming $5m in damages, citing loss of enjoyment of life, loss of opportunity and mental distress.
I haven’t met the jolly Steve Hinder but he seems to be absolutely everywhere, smiling into the lens of every camera.
I suppose it shows what a sheltered life I lead never having run into the great man.
Hinder is, of course, in favour of the destruction of heritage buildings in Newmarket’s old downtown so he is not my favourite person.
As for Pullano, he has demonstrated remarkable staying power.
He is not going to forgive – or forget – that blow to the chest four years ago.
The trial starts at 1pm in Courtroom 402 at the Courthouse in Eagle Street and will continue at 9.30am on the days following.
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
The Town of Newmarket is at last taking steps to protect established neighbourhoods from Monster Homes.
These huge structures by definition dwarf their neighbours and transform streets out of all recognition.
The Town is to spend $150,000 to bring in outside consultants who will identify the dominant characteristics of Newmarket neighbourhoods and ensure that any new infill developments fit in. Anyway, that’s the theory.
In Newmarket these things tend to be done at a majestic pace and, true to form, the project is scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2019, a leisurely thirteen months away.
“The goal of the Official Plan Amendment is to identify Newmarket neighborhoods based on the existing characteristics and implement policies that are reflective of the built form to guide new infill residential dwellings; addressing community character and compatibility.”
I welcome the fact that the Town is prepared to act – but why on earth does it take so long to get things done? And why is so much work farmed out to consultants?
Urgency. What's that?
The problem of inappropriate infill development was recognised by the Town’s Director of Planning, Rick Nethery, in a report to councillors in 2012 but he has absolutely no sense of urgency about anything.
When developers insert a giant Monster Home into a quiet residential street they are, in effect, casually giving the finger to the people who are already living there. They - the residents - will soon realise they are on their own if they turn to the Town for help. They aren’t consulted. Their views aren’t canvassed. They will only realise something is amiss when the bulldozers turn up next door. That is precisely what happened at 1011 Elgin Street where Morad Dadgar’s megastructure now looms over its neighbours.
At a Council workshop in March 2018 planning staff set out the options for controlling and regulating infill development. You can see what happened here.
The planners pointed to other municipalities that had acted to control inappropriate infill. Personally, Ottawa seems a pretty good template and councillors are told it would cost $45,000 to lift that model and adapt it to fit Newmarket. Instead, the Town is shelling out three times this sum for consultants to start presumably from scratch.
The Town’s document inviting bids says this:
“While intensification is primarily directed to the Town’s urban centres, limited intensification can still occur in stable residential neighbourhoods. If done respectfully, the redevelopment can be of value to the community. However, redevelopment can occur in a manner that does not respect the built form that exists.
In older neighbourhoods, existing lot areas and frontages are often large enough to accommodate larger homes while still meeting the requirements of the zoning by-law. As a result, new development can occur in a form that is inconsistent with the height, building footprint, design and character of the existing residential dwellings in the neighborhood.”
That narrative is a straight lift from reports the Director of Planning was sending to councillors six years ago.
In the intervening period, we’ve seen houses as big as barns pop up in the most unlikely places - even in Glenway where new development was supposed to be like-to-like.
Your street. Your rules.
Ottawa’s “Streetscape Character Analysis” (SCA) was introduced in 2015 and seems to be working well enough. An SCA must be submitted as part of any development application for new dwellings.
In Ottawa they believe
“your street gives you your rules.”
That sounds like a maxim tailor made for Newmarket if we want the Town’s residents, not developers, to shape their own neighbourhoods.
Update on 14 December 2020: Town agrees Established Neighbourhoods Compatibility Study
Update on 16 December 2020: From Newmarket Today: Town agrees new rules for residential areas.
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Donald Trump is a shameless compulsive liar. 
Anyone who doubts the truth of that statement has not been paying attention.
But what was the first BIG lie? The whopper that set him on the road to a lifetime of mendacity?
The Canadian business journalist, Susanne Craig, at the New York Times since 2010, says Trump’s claim that he made his own fortune is the “foundational lie”.
Trump boasts he is a self-made man, allegedly turning a loan of $1m from his father Fred into a global empire worth billions. But it’s a lie.
Trump's braggadocio
Last month, the New York Times reported:
“Donald J. Trump built a business empire and won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. “I built what I built myself,” the president has repeatedly said.
But an investigation by The New York Times has revealed that Donald Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. What’s more, much of this money came to Mr. Trump through dubious tax schemes he participated in during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, The Times found.”
The story shows the dubious ways in which Trump made his money. Since the New York Times story was published Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet, ignoring its jaw-dropping exposé. No lawyers’ letters are anticipated.
Last week in Toronto I sat in on a conversation between Craig and former CBC investigative journalist Julian Sher (who produced The Fifth Estate for many years) hosted by the Canadian Journalism Foundation.
It is gripping stuff.
Craig has been covering Trump and his finances since early 2016 when she received an anonymous brown paper envelope containing three pages from one of Trump’s tax returns. She and two other Times’ journalists spent 18 months putting the jigsaw together working out of a room next to the Times’ Arts and Travel Office to which only they had access.
Sniper
Craig tells us she often felt uneasy sitting at her desk by the window fearing she might be the target for a sniper. The Times’ building is a fortress but, despite this, I learn staff get regular first aid training. Good grief!
Initially, Craig and her colleagues worked on publicly available information, identifying every single one of Fred Trump’s properties, establishing what he paid for it and how much revenue it generated. Craig gave each property its own name – a kind of aide memoire. From this they could begin to understand Fred’s modus operandi.
Rent was already being paid to Donald Trump (age 3) and by the time he was 8 Donald was a millionaire. By the time he was in college Donald was getting $1m a year from his father.
Fred did everything he could to minimise the amount he paid in tax, transferring wealth across the generations. The sums are staggering.
Despite this generosity, Trump gets his lawyers to draft a codicil to Fred's will making him the sole beneficiary. Fred, ailing but still compos mentis, tears it up.
With the mid-term elections now behind them, Americans - and the rest of us - may soon be focussed on Trump’s tax returns.
I hope so.
Their publication will be a truly delicious moment to savour.