Ontario tables bill to return Greenbelt land and enhance legal protections

The Ontario government tabled legislation Monday that would return parcels of land to the Greenbelt as well as codify its boundaries.

The bill will restore all 7,400 acres of land the province removed from both the Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine in November 2022, as well as keep the 9,400 acres of land that were added to the protected area around the same time.

Officials say the legislation will also ensure that any future changes to its boundaries will be made through a “public and transparent process that would require the approval of the legislature.”

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This would mean it will no longer be possible for any provincial government to make changes to the Greenbelt by regulation, a process the Doug Ford government used to alter the boundaries less than a year ago.

“In order for a government to make legislative changes or to make boundary changes in the future, they will have to bring legislation forward in the House that will have to be debated and go through the committee process, that will then also commence a posting on the regulatory environmental registry,” Ontario Housing Minister Paul Calandra told reporters Monday afternoon.

“It's enhancing the process by making it so that it's not solely on regulation. It's not solely through ordering Council.”

A legislated 10-year review of the Greenbelt will, going forward, be led by an “impartial, nonpartisan experts in conservation, agriculture and environmentalism and will include engagement with Indigenous communities and municipalities,” according to the government.

The final recommendations will also go through the auditor general and the commissioner of the environment for consultation.

“What we're trying to do and what we will ensure is that the politics are taken out of the review process,” Calandra said.

LIABILITY PROTECTIONS

The legislation also expands on government protections from personal liability “for acts done in good faith.”

The original legislation within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act protects deputy ministers, employees of the ministry, and anyone acting under the deputy minister’s authority from damages related to alleged neglect for work performed in good faith as part of their role in government.

In the new bill, these protections will extend to “facilitators” and appointed “deputy facilities.” When asked by reporters who this would include, Calandra would only say it would provide “enhanced immunity protections for the government.”

The legislation as a whole is a response to nearly a year of criticism by members of the public and the government’s official opposition—in addition to two scathing reports by the province’s auditor general and integrity commissioner that found certain developers were favoured in the selection process.

According to the auditor general, about 92 per cent of the land removed from the Greenbelt benefitted three developers who had ties to the housing ministry and met with the then-minister’s chief of staff at an industry dinner.

The owners of the 15 land sites chosen through this process could see more than an $8.3 billion increase to the values of their properties, the auditor found.

The chief of staff primarily responsible for choosing the sites resigned after the report was made public.

Former Housing Minister Steve Clark also resigned from his cabinet position after the integrity commissioner found he broke ethics rules by “failing to oversee the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected to development.”

• Read more about the auditor general report and the integrity commissioner’s report

Both reports reveal a decision-making process that significantly lacked transparency and consultation, failing to take both environmental and financial factors into account. It also led to a reversal of the decision, with the premier apologizing for removing the lands in the first place.

The legislation also comes on the heels of a freshly-announced criminal investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) into the land swaps.

The RCMP confirmed last week that it is looking into “allegations associated to the decision from the Province of Ontario to open parts of the Greenbelt for development.”

Little information has been released so far about the specific allegations being reviewed; however the RCMP did say its provincial Sensitive and International Investigations Unit is the one leading the investigation.

The unit typically investigates allegations of fraud, corruption and breach of trust by elected officials.

• What you need to know about the RCMP Greenbelt investigation

The RCMP was referred the file by the Ontario Provincial Police back in August to avoid “any perceived conflict of interest.” The provincial police’s anti-rackets branch had been reviewing complaints since mid-December.