RCMP Launches Formal Probe Into Ontario’s Greenbelt Land Swap

Ontario Premier Doug Ford delivers remarks at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute in Toronto on Aug. 31, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

The RCMP has announced an official criminal investigation into the Ontario government’s authorization of housing development within the protected Greenbelt. The premier’s office has confirmed the province’s cooperation with this probe.

The RCMP announced the opening of its investigation on Oct. 10, following a transfer of authority from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in August. The OPP said in January that it was deciding whether to investigate, but the provincial force passed the case to the RCMP in August due to concerns about a potential conflict of interest.

“Following a referral from the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP O Division’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit has now launched an investigation into allegations associated to the decision from the Province of Ontario to open parts of the Greenbelt for development,'' RCMP Cpl. Christy Veenstra said in an email statement.

This RCMP unit is tasked with investigating “sensitive, high risk matters that cause significant threats to Canada’s political, economic and social integrity of its institutions across Canada and internationally,'' according to its website.

After the RCMP’s investigation announcement, the premier’s office confirmed that it will cooperate with the police.

“The government will fully cooperate with any investigation,'' Mr. Ford’s office said in an email statement to The Epoch Times on Oct. 10.

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“We have zero tolerance for any wrongdoing and expect anyone involved in the decision-making about the Greenbelt lands to have followed the letter of the law.”

The Ford government came under scrutiny last year after it amended the Greenbelt Plan boundary, which was created in 2005 to protect some of Canada’s most fertile farmland. This change included the removal or re-designation of 7,400 acres across 15 sites as part of the government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.

The premier issued an apology in September for the land exchange and announced that the 15 parcels of removed land would be reinstated into the Greenbelt.

Watchdog Probes

Two government oversight bodies investigating the land exchange discovered that the method of choosing which lands were taken out of the Greenbelt had flaws and appeared to favour particular developers.

Ontario Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake concluded in August that the province’s housing minister at the time, Steve Clark, had breached the Members’ Integrity Act. Mr. Clark resigned from his position shortly thereafter.

In a separate report, Ontario’s auditor general Bonnie Lysyk found that the developers stood to see their land value increase by $8.3 billion due to the land swap.

Both the integrity commissioner and the auditor general focused their probes on Mr. Clark’s then-chief of staff, Ryan Amato.

Ms. Lysyk found that over 90 percent of the Greenbelt land removals were linked with five sites transferred to Mr. Amato by two prominent developers he met at an industry dinner.

While Mr. Wake’s investigation did not find direct evidence of developers being informed by the government about potential Greenbelt removals, he found that Mr. Amato’s interactions and discussions with them had a similar effect.

Following the auditor general’s report, Mr. Amato resigned from his position.

He has previously said he did nothing wrong and declined to comment on Oct. 10.

“On the advice of my legal counsel it would be inappropriate for me to comment on an ongoing police investigation,'' Mr. Amato wrote in an email to The Canadian Press.

The aftermath of the watchdog probes also led to the resignation of other high-profile officials, including Ontario cabinet minister Kaleed Rasheed.

Ontario is set to introduce legislation that would require any future alterations to the Greenbelt to go through the legislature rather than being made through regulations, as was the case in the recent scandal.

Issac Teo, Matthew Horwood, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.