Ontario won't allow homes to be built on floodplains, Ford says after fed warning
Ontario has no plans to allow homes to be built on floodplains, Premier Doug Ford said Friday after the federal environment minister warned Ottawa would not provide disaster compensation where development is greenlit in areas prone to flooding.
Ford said it's the responsibility of any builder to ensure they protect against development on floodplains.
"I encourage the federal minister to do his research," Ford said at an unrelated news conference. "Maybe I'll call him and inform him of what's going on."
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Guilbeault had said some of the lands where housing or commercial development is being proposed in Ontario are in floodplains, and flooding is the top climate change cost in Canada.
"I'm very worried by what I'm seeing in Ontario," Guilbeault said this week.
"The idea that the federal government will continue to compensate people where their provincial government deliberately allowed them to go and build housing units in an area that is prone to flooding is nonsense."
Guilbeault's comments came after the Ontario government announced plans last month to open up the protected Greenbelt to development.
The Progressive Conservative government has proposed removing land from 15 different areas of the Greenbelt so that 50,000 homes can be built, while adding acres elsewhere.
A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said Ontario has not received financial assistance for a flood in more than 15 years and rarely gets funding under the federal government's Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.
"Undertaking natural hazard mitigation is a standard part of any development and Ontario's preventative approach of directing development away from floodplains and other hazardous areas is highly effective," Victoria Podbielski wrote in a statement.
Ontario created the Greenbelt in 2005 to protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development.
Ford had previously promised he wouldn't touch the protected land, but his government now says the plan to open up the Greenbelt will help with its goal of building 1.5 million homes in 10 years.
Both Ford and his housing minister have said the provincial government did not tip off developers ahead of announcing changes to the Greenbelt after media reports suggested that some prominent developers who are Progressive Conservative donors stand to benefit from the move.
Ontario's integrity commissioner and the province's auditor general have been asked to investigate the government's Greenbelt plan.
With files from Bob Weber in Edmonton
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 2, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.