Greenbelt Scandal Deepens
On August 20, Ontario Integrity Commissioner, J. David Wake, concluded that Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Steve Clark breached sections 2 and 3(2) of the Integrity Act and recommended to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that he be reprimanded for his failure to comply with the Act. The ruling comes in response to Wake's investigation concerning the mandate given to Clark by Premier Ford to open up the Greenbelt for development after having spent four years saying he would not do that. In the summary of the report outlining his findings, Wake noted that the evidence he reviewed -- which included interviewing witnesses, reviewing maps, emails and text messages -- "paints a picture of a process marked by misinterpretation, unnecessary hastiness and deception. It shows that Mr. Amato [Clark's chief of staff] advised Minister Clark to 'leave it with me' as he embarked on a chaotic and almost reckless process that I find led to an uninformed and opaque decision which resulted in the creation of an opportunity to further the private interests of some developers improperly." The Auditor General found that 83 per cent of the land removed is among the highest quality farmland in the province. About 400 acres of the removed sites are wetlands or woodlands.
In
particular, the report found that the Housing and Municipal Affairs
Minister's Chief of Staff, Ryan Amato, sent signals to certain
developers that their Greenbelt holdings could be developed, which
amounted to insider information that they used to benefit themselves.
Of the 15 properties that
were removed from the Greenbelt for development, 14 involved Amato. His
recommendations were accepted whole hog by the Ontario Cabinet after
being submitted by Minister Clark.
On August 23, the Ontario Provincial Police referred its investigation into the land swaps -- in which 2,995 hectares of land across the 15 sites removed from the Greenbelt were replaced with about 3,804 hectares elsewhere, including about 971 hectares that were already protected, according to the Auditor General -- to the RCMP. The RCMP says it will evaluate the information to assess whether to launch an investigation or not.
On August 28, the Chiefs of Ontario unanimously passed a resolution at an emergency meeting opposing the so-called Greenbelt land swap and also called for Minister Clark to resign. The majority of the land removed from the Greenbelt is covered by multiple treaties with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the 1923 Williams Treaties, to which seven other First Nations are party, according to a previous report on the issue by the Ontario Auditor General. Rights under those treaties include harvesting rights in certain areas, such as rights to hunt, fish, trap and gather.
Ontario
Regional Chief Glen Hare, who is from the M'Chigeeng First Nation on
Manitoulin Island, said First Nations were not adequately consulted on
the Greenbelt changes, despite the changes directly affecting their
treaty and constitutionally protected rights. "Planning decisions
related to
housing are foundational to how we live and live together," Hare said
at a news conference following the meeting. "This requires all
governments to work together in respect to treaty relationships and
obligations." Chief Laurie Carr of the Hiawatha First Nation, one of
the signatories to the
Williams Treaties, said removing land from the Greenbelt "directly
interferes" with those rights. Chief Taynar Simpson of the Alderville
First Nation, another signatory to the Williams Treaties, said the
Greenbelt removals would damage water systems and wetlands that supply
groundwater, reduce flood
risks, and improve climate resilience.
On September 4, Labour Day, Minister Clark resigned his cabinet position. On September 5, Ford announced a review of all Greenbelt lands including the parcels that were removed. On September 20, Ford's Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, Kaleed Rasheed, resigned after it was revealed that he gave the Integrity Commissioner incorrect dates about a trip to Las Vegas he took at the same time a close friend who is also a real estate developer and who owned land removed from the Greenbelt did. Rasheed initially gave dates about his trip to the Commissioner that made it appear as if they did not take the trip at the same time. A spokesperson for the former minister, prior to his resignation, said this was done mistakenly. Addressing the public on September 21, Ford also called it a mistake to have opened the protected lands for real estate development, but did not explain what the mistake was or why he decided to break the clear commitment he made not to develop them.
This article was published in
Number 54 - September 27, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10542.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca