The Ontario Provincial Police continues to review complaints filed against the Doug Ford government regarding its Greenbelt development plans to determine if it warrants a full investigation.
The anti-racketeering unit of the provincial police has been digging around since mid-December. It has yet to be determined if there is any evidence to support the investigation.
The request for an inquiry was made Dec. 14 by environmental groups and Democracy Watch and was widely supported by the Liberal Party of Ontario.
They claim the developers were notified of the province’s plans to remove about 7,400 acres from 15 Green Belt sites so they could build more housing.
“It belies any reason that the people doing these transactions didn’t know the land was going to be open.” So it’s up to the OPP to find out how they knew,” Phil Potten, Environmental Protection Ontario’s environmental program manager, told CTV News Toronto.
“If the minister says it wasn’t him, that’s fine. We need to find out who it was.
A number of major developers have bought land in the Greenbelt since the Ford Government was elected in 2018. This includes an investment made as far back as September 2022.
Speaking to CTV News Toronto, Pothen said his organization met with provincial police a few weeks ago. He says he can’t provide much information about what was discussed, but that the organization has “provided whatever support we can.”
“The OPP has asked us not to disclose details of these discussions.”
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said no one in their government had been approached by the OPP about this matter and no documents had been requested.
Both Premier Doug Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark have repeatedly denied tipping off the developers, saying only that they had held “numerous consultations” on the matter.
“I am the Minister of Housing. I meet with people who want to build housing, whether it’s Habitat for Humanity, whether it’s Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, whether it’s a private homebuilder building one home a year or 1,000 homes. That’s what I do,” Clark said in late November.
“I followed all the rules our government suggested for publication. I didn’t hide the post. I was honest, open and transparent.”
Clarke’s response has not quelled the opposition’s desire for answers. Multiple requests have been made to the Auditor General of Ontario and the Integrity Commissioner to investigate the process.
Both offices told CTV News Toronto that the requests are still being reviewed or reviewed.
A map provided by the Ontario government shows which green belt areas will be removed and added.
Some of the claims relate to whether Ford or Clark violated Section 2 or Section 3 of the Member Integrity Act.
Section 2 covers conflict of interest and ensures that a member of the legislature does not knowingly take a decision that could further his personal interests or those of another person. Section 3 prohibits a member from providing inside information that is not publicly available for personal gain.
The NDP also called for “a value-for-money audit to examine how much wealth will increase for property owners when their land is removed from the Greenbelt, thereby allowing for profitable rezoning, and whether this transfer of wealth is in the public interest.”
With files from CTV News Toronto Queen’s Park reporter Siobhan Morris
Add Comment