The Real Tragedy of Millcroft

For years, the residents of Millcroft have been told a story—a story of resistance, of "standing firm," and of a municipal government that had the power to simply say "no" to development on their beloved greenspace. But as the excavators prepare to move in, the true tragedy of Millcroft isn't just the loss of grass and trees. It is the calculated erosion of trust between the people of Burlington and those elected to lead them.

I have watched as Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Ward 6 Councillor Angelo Bentivegna navigated this file, and the pattern is as clear as it is disappointing. Instead of providing the community with a sober, honest assessment of Ontario’s planning laws, they chose the path of least resistance: telling people exactly what they wanted to hear, regardless of the legal reality.

Pictured: Marianne Meed Ward and Angelo Bentivegna

For a long time, the narrative was that the city could "stop the bulldozers." This was a fundamental misrepresentation of how planning works in Ontario. Under the current provincial framework, municipalities do not have the absolute authority to block development that meets specific density and growth criteria. By refusing to be candid about the limitations of the city's power, our leadership didn't protect Millcroft; they simply ensured the community would be blindsided when the inevitable provincial overrides and appeals took their course.

The cost of this posturing is now becoming painfully evident. Originally, the developer had signaled a commitment to maintaining the golf course as an 18-hole facility. It was the "silver lining" residents clung to. However, recent investigations have revealed that this promise was never set in stone. Even more galling is the realization that the city’s aggressive, uncompromising resistance may have backfired. By opting for performance over pragmatism, our leadership likely scorched the earth of any meaningful negotiation, potentially resulting in the clawback of that 18-hole promise. We didn't just lose the fight; we lost the concessions we might have otherwise secured.

Now, we have reached the "last ditch effort" stage: the call for a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO).

To suggest that an MZO is a realistic "save" for Millcroft is, at best, a misunderstanding of the current political climate and, at worst, a deliberate fabrication. MZOs were designed to fast-track development, not to freeze it in amber. In an era where the provincial government is laser-focused on hitting housing targets, the idea that they would issue an extraordinary order to stop a project that has already cleared significant hurdles is a fantasy.

Offering this as a viable strategy is irresponsible. It keeps residents in a state of perpetual high-alert, asking them to donate their time, energy, and hope toward a goal that has no foundation in reality. It prevents the community from doing the one thing that might actually have mattered: negotiating for the best possible version of an inevitable reality.

The "new reality of realty" in Ontario is harsh. We are in a housing crisis, and the provincial government has made it clear that local preferences will often be secondary to provincial targets. A responsible leader’s job is to sit across from their constituents and say, "This is the law, these are our limited options, and here is how we mitigate the impact."

Instead, Millcroft was given a fairy tale. By the time the ink is dry on the final permits, the Mayor and the Ward 6 Councillor will likely blame "the system" or "the province." But they should look in the mirror. The tragedy isn’t just that the development is happening—it’s that our leaders lacked the courage to be honest about it until it was too late. Empty promises are a poor substitute for leadership, and the people of Burlington deserve better than being led down a dead-end path.