The RCMP said Wednesday that it is assessing whether to launch an investigation into the removal of lands from the protected Greenbelt for housing development, following a referral from the Ontario Provincial Police. Here is a timeline of events in the controversy:
Nov. 4, 2022: Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announces via news release that Ontario would remove 7,400 acres in 15 different areas of the Greenbelt, while adding 9,400 acres elsewhere, in order to build 50,000 homes. It contradicted a pledge he made in 2021 not to open up the Greenbelt "to any kind of development."
Nov. 11: CBC reports that the landowners who stand to benefit from the Greenbelt land removals include prominent developers and that one purchase happened as recently as September.
Nov. 30: Clark says he did not tip off developers ahead of announcing changes to the Greenbelt. Premier Doug Ford says the same a day later.
Jan. 6, 2023: Ontario Provincial Police say they're working to determine whether they should investigate the matter.
Jan. 18: Ontario's integrity commissioner and auditor general both announce that they will conduct separate probes. The integrity commissioner launches an investigation into Clark based on a complaint from NDP leader Marit Stiles. She asked the commissioner to investigate whether Clark broke ethics rules around making a public policy decision to further someone's private interests.
Feb. 23: Stiles asks the integrity commissioner to issue an opinion on Ford's actions surrounding his daughter's stag-and-doe event ahead of her wedding. Ford has acknowledged that some developers, who are friends, attended the $150-a-ticket event and media reports say lobbyists and government relations firms were also invited. Stiles says in her complaint that several individuals and developers who attended the subsequent wedding have received favourable Minister's Zoning Orders and at least one has benefitted from Greenbelt changes.
March 16: The integrity commissioner temporarily sets aside the stag-and-doe request, saying there is overlap with the Greenbelt investigation that's already underway. The commissioner says he and his staff are reviewing the "extensive material" gathered so far, have done independent research, and are preparing summonses for numerous witnesses to be interviewed.
Aug. 9: Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk releases her report. Her findings include that all but one of the 15 sites removed from the Greenbelt were suggested not by civil servants, but by Clark's chief of staff, who was given packages at an industry event by two key developers, and that developers who had access to the top staffer wound up with 92 per cent of the land that was removed. If some sites did not meet the criteria for selection, such as for environmental reasons, the criterion was simply dropped, rather than selecting a different site, Lysyk finds.
Aug. 10: The integrity commissioner's office says it has started reviewing a request from Ford's office to investigate Clark's chief of staff Ryan Amato.
Aug. 14: Ford's office says it is creating a working group to implement Lysyk's recommendations on improving processes.
Aug. 16: Stiles asks the integrity commissioner to consider Lysyk's findings that political staff were using personal email accounts and were regularly deleting emails.
Aug. 22: Amato resigns.
Aug: 23: The OPP refers the matter to the RCMP out of concern over a perceived conflict of interest. The RCMP says it will evaluate the information and assess whether to launch an investigation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2023.
The Canadian Press
