Doug Ford calls Greenbelt a 'scam' as NDP accuse government of hiding from new claims

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the Greenbelt a “scam” on Thursday as the NDP accused his government of hiding from new reports about the area’s planned development.

“We have a Liberal government that [got] a bunch of staffers, randomly got a highlighter and went up and down roads. They were going through golf courses, through buildings. It was just a big scam as far as I'm concerned,” the premier said of the 2005 government which established the space.

Ford made the comments in response to questions about reports that suggested his office discussed changes to the Greenbelt months prior to announcing it would be removing 7,400 acres from 15 different areas of the area for development. He denied that his office discussed the changes in August, as was reported by Canadian investigative online magazine The Narwhal.

The Narwhal found that senior staff members within Ford’s office were emailing about the Greenbelt as early as Aug. 23, 2022. It’s unclear from the reports what changes were discussed and if Ford himself was aware of the discussion.

Speaking in the legislature on Thursday, NDP Leader Marit Stiles said “timing matters” when it comes to the development of the Greenbelt.

“In 2018, this government swore up and down they wouldn't touch the Greenbelt, but the evidence suggests that no later than August 2022 They were considering breaking that promise.”

Stiles touched on the fact that at least one large developer purchased Greenbelt land in King Township, next to the boundary with Newmarket, in September 2022. Records show the property was sold to Green Lane Bathurst GP Inc., a company connected to developer Rice Group, for about $80 million.

A spokesperson for the premier's office has said the requests made by The Narwhal were for files referencing the Greenbelt, and did not specify site selection.

"The implication that staff were discussing specific changes is false," Ivana Yelich said on Twitter.

The premier's office did not say if changes to the Greenbelt were discussed in a broader sense.

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The Ontario government announced the land changes in November 2022.The goal, officials said at the time, would be to build at least 50,000 homes on those lands.

The government then proposed to add 9,400 acres to the Greenbelt elsewhere.

Government House Leader Paul Calandra, who answered Stiles’ questions in Ford’s stead, sidestepped talking about the Greenbelt. Instead, he said the line of questions reflected the NDP’s “ideological opposition to building more homes.”

“We said very clearly that we were going to do our best to build more homes for the people the province of Ontario, and it started in 2018, [Stiles is] absolutely correct, with transit oriented communities,” Calandra said.

“The NDP and the Liberals put obstacles in the way of new construction coming online. We are going to remove those obstacles.”

‘WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO HIDE?’

Details about the government’s decision to carve up the Greenbelt have been sparse, leading to investigations led by both Ontario’s integrity commissioner and auditor general.

 

A map provided by the Ontario government shows what areas of the greenbelt will be removed and added.

Opposition parties and environmental advocates have asked these agencies to review whether the province’s housing minister tipped off developers ahead of revealing their plans as well as conduct a value-for-money audit into the financial and environmental impacts of the decision overall.

Both Doug Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark have denied wrongdoing.

Speaking to reporters after Question Period on Thursday, Stiles asked what the government was hiding.

“They could just provide us with the records right now,” she said. “Where there's smoke, there's going to be fire.”

“The walls closing in around this government and what do they do they hide?”

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner added the Ford government should just admit they made a mistake, calling the deal a “Greenbelt land scheme.” Schreiner cited a report released by Environmental Defence that suggests two million homes could be build on land already opened for development.

“Opening the Greenbelt for development, no matter on what timeline it's on, is the wrong thing to do,” he said.

“This is a farmland that feeds us, the wetlands and green space that protects us from extreme weather events like flooding, that cleans our drinking waters.”

Ontario Provincial Police’s anti-rackets branch is also reviewing complaints being made against the Ford government, however a spokesperson told CTV News Toronto this week there were no further updates.