Growing Media Scrutiny on Flawed TOC Process

On February 26, investigative reporter Sheila Wang of the Toronto Star published a story on Midtown, highlighting the problematic process behind the TOC proposal.   This article reinforces what WLO has been saying all along: the TOC proposal is deeply flawed and does not serve Oakville’s interests.

Our thanks to Coronation Park RA for highlighting the following extracts from the article.

Ms Wang is the same reporter that released the story on the Transit Oriented Community problems in Richmond Hill several months ago, wherein residents groups were complaining of developer favouritism that was akin to the tactics used in the Greenbelt scandal. See the backgrounder here.

From the article:

"For some, Midtown carries reminders of the Greenbelt scandal

Oakville council unanimously voted last month not to endorse the province’s proposal, which town staff say disregards the province’s own objectives of transit-oriented communities. The plan includes no provision for affordable housing units, and it’s silent on if or how the developers will contribute to any new infrastructure at the nearby Oakville GO station.

“Overall, the TOC proposal appears as a private development proposal with very little to no community benefit for either the town or the province,” Oakville planning staff told the province in a December 2024 letter.

For many in Oakville, the situation unfolding there is an unsettling echo of the Greenbelt scandal, where Ford government decisions disproportionately benefitting certain developers were foisted onto local communities."

Ms Wang's article includes information on Distrikt, the owners of the land involved in the Midtown TOC.

"From 2020 to 2024, Distrikt-affiliated companies spent more than $120 million buying the four plots of land, according to property records reviewed by the Star.

Emil Toma, Distrikt’s president is registered as a director for each of the corporations that own the land. One of those companies is Cross Realty, a joint-venture Toma has with developer Christopher Bratty.

Bratty and his wife were guests at the wedding of one of Premier Ford’s daughters in September 2022, according to a seating chart obtained by the Star. The premier had said the developer guests were “friends of the Ford family, and in some cases have been for decades,” according to the office of the integrity commissioner.

Bratty and Toma joined forces in 2023 to secure the last of the four land parcels. According to corporate records, Bratty is not a director of any of the companies that own the other three properties 

Distrikt has hired Amir Remtulla to lobby the Ontario government for intensification in Oakville’s Midtown area.

Remtulla worked as chief of staff to the late Rob Ford, the premier’s brother, from 2011 to 2012. The Star previously reported that Remtulla was hired to lobby the provincial government on behalf of developers including TACC Developments, headed by Silvio De Gasperis. De Gasperis was one of the landowners whose properties were to be removed from the Greenbelt before the plan was reversed. Remtulla’s lobbying was to be on issues related to “environment” and “housing”; his registration did not mention the Greenbelt.

Records show Remtulla had lobbied the provincial government on behalf of Distrikt with targets including premier Ford’s office, the ministry of infrastructure and housing minister’s office from 2022 to 2024. The lobbying goals, the records show, were “Intensification and future growth potential of the Oakville Midtown urban growth and major transit station area."

Does Ontario’s Midtown TOC Plan Meet its Own Objectives?

When Ford’s government passed the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Act in July 2020, it was intended to increase housing supply, create jobs, build complete communities, and offset the cost of station construction.

Ms Wang's article continues...

"But the proposed condo development fails to meet these objectives, according to Oakville’s planning staff.

In a December 2024 letter to the ministry of infrastructure, staff pointed out that the current version of the proposal does not require affordable housing in any of the 11 planned towers. It also does not include sufficient space for retail office and commercial use, and the parkland will be insufficient for the number of residents.

“You can’t just plop 11 high story buildings on a couple of pieces of land and expect that to function over time. You need all the community centres, the parks, the libraries, the schools, the infrastructure,” said Doyle, an urban planner."

You can read the full article here, but the article requires a subscription.