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.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
China said Tuesday it will 'resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, as relations between the two countries deteriorate further. The balloon prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a highly-anticipated visit to Beijing this week that had offered slight hopes for an improvement in relations.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
John Benoit of West Jeddore, N.S., says he has been beachcombing for over 50 years, but his most recent discovery -- a Killick anchor -- is by far his most memorable.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
A 16-year-old boy has died after being struck by a snow clearing truck in the parking lot of Les Galeries Laval shopping mall on Monday night.
As the search continues for survivors, people in Quebec's Turkish community are doing what they can to help.
An elderly man is dead after a house fire in the small town of Saint-Philippe, about 30 kilometres south of Montreal. Roussillon police confirmed that the fire started around 8 p.m. in a home on Saint-Andre Road.
The public is asked to avoid a section of Highbury Avenue after a vehicle collision downed powerlines in the area.
An aggressive plan to address London, Ont.’s housing crisis has been unveiled by city hall, but meeting the construction targets will require doing things differently.
Netflix users who have been sharing their passwords with friends and family members who live hundreds – or even thousands – of kilometres away won’t be able to do so for much longer, as the streaming service announced its plans to end password sharing.
Google says on Monday notifications were sent to employees affected by the recently announced job cuts.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Wellington County are investigating a fatal two-vehicle collision in the Township of Wellington North.
A 44-year-old Woolwich, Ont., man has been arrested for allegedly making death threats against a member of parliament.
Netflix users who have been sharing their passwords with friends and family members who live hundreds – or even thousands – of kilometres away won’t be able to do so for much longer, as the streaming service announced its plans to end password sharing.
A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, chased students around and tried to whip them with his belt and once choked another teacher 'until she couldn't breathe,' according to a legal notice filed by an attorney for the wounded teacher.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
Homeowners and employees have been left reeling after an Orléans construction company suddenly closed its doors, walking away from half-built houses and projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
An Ottawa family fled a fire in their home Saturday barefoot and in their pyjamas, suffering frostbite in the bitter cold. They're now waiting for it to be safe to return and assess the damage.
Two people have died in a serious single-vehicle crash in Kingsville, a third person was injured and transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A city committee unanimously endorsed re-zoning lands for a massive proposed housing development in central Windsor Monday night.
Windsor police are looking for a female suspect after a trumpet theft at a Walker Road business.
A 20-year-old female has been arrested for attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a Barrie police officer late Sunday night.
After a three-month-long investigation, a 69-year-old man was arrested on Feb. 2.
Environment Canada expects to see freezing rain early this morning.
Hundreds of Nova Scotians are still without power on Monday following frigid temperatures and high winds over the weekend.
A Cape Breton councillor feels with a 14 per cent increase now granted to Nova Scotia Power and millions of dollars in profits annually, residents shouldn't be paying out hundreds of dollars to operate a generator to keep the lights on.
While relatively short-lived, the blast of Arctic air in the Maritimes was enough to break some long-standing low temperature records for all three Maritime provinces for both Friday and Saturday.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
Calgarians at home and abroad are reeling in the wake of a massive earthquake that struck a war-torn region near the border of Turkiye and Syria.
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
The province is building an interchange at St Mary's Road and the South Perimeter to help traffic flow better, but some drivers who live in the area aren't happy with how speed limits are being enforced in a portion of this construction zone.
The Winnipeg Police Service said it has linked two recent homicides in the city, with officers alleging the incidents were not random.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
There’s so much demand for Vancouver’s mental health emergency teams that people can be left waiting days, and sometimes teams never make it to requests for service at all. It’s hoped a funding boost to hire more staff will increase capacity of the service.
A dog named Kujo will be euthanized after a B.C. judge determined the animal is "likely to kill or injure" if released from the pound.
For more than two years, Canada’s premiers have been asking for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss a new healthcare funding model – and on Tuesday the group will finally get two hours of face time in Ottawa.
Canada's premiers are in Ottawa to meet with the prime minister over access to more health care funding. But that's not all Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has on her mind.
Search teams and emergency aid from around the world poured into Turkiye and Syria on Tuesday as rescuers working in freezing temperatures dug, sometimes with their bare hands, through the remains of buildings flattened by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The death toll soared above 5,000 and was still expected to rise.
After using Alberta's education curriculum since the 1950s, the Northwest Territories has outlined the timeline it will use to pivot toward British Columbia's program of studies.
