Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday that he has reversed his decision to open the protected Greenbelt lands for housing development. He also stated that there will be no future changes to the Greenbelt. This decision came after Ford discussed the concerns expressed by his caucus members regarding the Greenbelt during a retreat in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Ford admitted that he had broken his promise to protect the Greenbelt and apologized for his actions.
Ford acknowledged that it was a mistake to open the Greenbelt and implement a process that moved too quickly, leaving room for certain individuals to benefit at the expense of others. This process had caused people to question the government’s motives. As a first step towards rebuilding trust, Ford pledged to reverse the changes that were made and ensure that no further alterations will be made to the Greenbelt in the future.
Last year, the province took over 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt in order to construct 50,000 homes, citing the housing crisis. However, Ford has faced significant opposition to this plan since its announcement. Reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner revealed that the process used to select lands for development was rushed and favored certain developers.
The auditor general also found that the value of the land removed from the Greenbelt would increase by $8.3 billion, benefiting the property owners. Additionally, it was discovered that more than 90% of the land removed was given to then-housing minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff, Ryan Amato, by two developers he had met at an industry event.
In August, the integrity commissioner released a report stating that he had no evidence of developers being specifically informed about the government’s considerations regarding Greenbelt removal. However, he found that Amato’s actions and conversations with the developers had indirectly tipped them off about the potential removals. The commissioner also concluded that Clark had failed to oversee his staff properly. As a result of these findings, Clark and Amato have both resigned from their positions.
Another cabinet minister, Kaleed Rasheed, resigned earlier this week following news reports that raised questions about his connections to developer Shakir Rehmatullah and a trip to Las Vegas. The RCMP is currently reviewing information to determine if there are grounds for an investigation into the Greenbelt land swap. Despite these concerns, Ford has expressed confidence that no criminal activity had taken place.