Ontario Opposition Parties Ask for Probe Into Greenbelt Land Purchases

Steve Clark, then-minister of municipal affairs and housing for Ontario, speaks to reporters at the Queen’s Park legislature in Toronto on Nov. 16, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)

Opposition parties in Ontario are asking for investigations into land purchases made shortly before the provincial government’s announcement that a portion of the Greenbelt would be open to development.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner filed a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner Nov. 28. NDP MPP Marit Stiles submitted a request to the Auditor General on Nov. 25 asking for a probe. The Auditor’s office told The Epoch Times it has not yet decided whether it will investigate.

“The people of Ontario are rightfully suspicious of the timing of the sale of certain protected Greenbelt lands that will now be open for development, and the ties these land speculators have to the PC party,“ Schreiner said in a press release. ”I have asked the Integrity Commissioner for an opinion on whether the Members Integrity Act or any parliamentary convention has been breached.”

Developer Michael Rice purchased nearly 700 acres for $80 million in the Greenbelt two months before the government announced it would be open for development, according to the Toronto Star. The Epoch Times reached out to Rice for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Reporters asked Housing Minister Steve Clark on Nov. 29 whether he gave any developers a heads up that he would be making these Greenbelt changes. He replied, “There’s a process for the Greenbelt posting. I follow the process. ... But listen, I’m the Housing Minister. I meet with people who want to build housing, whether they’re Habitat for Humanity, whether they’re Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, whether they’re a private homebuilder that builds one home a year or a thousand homes.”

When asked again, he replied: “We made it clear with the posting, we followed all of the procedures. And again, I’m the Housing Minister. I meet with a variety of people on housing all the time.”

Housing Minister Steve Clark’s press secretary, Victoria Podbielski, sent a statement to The Epoch Times on the matter. It said “Ontario is in a housing supply crisis, and our government is considering every possible option to get more homes built faster.”

The statement said the Greenbelt changes would create 50,000 new homes. Those changes include the addition of about 9,000 acres to the Greenbelt to replace the 7,000 taken for development.

“The fifteen sites identified had to meet very clear criteria that meant homes could be built quickly,” the statement added. Construction should begin by 2025, it said, and developers must get approvals to guarantee adequate environmental protection.

During Question Period on Nov. 28, Clark did not “explicitly deny providing leaked information to Greenbelt land speculators,” Green Leader Schreiner said. And that “reaffirms the need for this investigation.”

The Epoch Times reached out to MPP Stiles for further comment on her request for an Auditor’s probe, but did not receive a reply. The Epoch Times also asked Premier Doug Ford’s office for a comment on the allegations, and was referred to Minister Clark’s office.

This article has been updated to include Housing Minister Steve Clark’s comments to media on Nov. 29.