The Ontario government’s process for choosing protected Greenbelt land to open up for housing development was heavily influenced by a small group of well-connected developers who now stand to make billions of dollars, the province’s auditor general says.
In the report, Lysyk makes 15 recommendations, the largest of which is to re-evaluate the decision to change the Greenbelt boundaries. Other recommendations include clarifying the roles of chiefs of staff versus deputy ministers, and strengthening the Officer of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, who is conducting a separate investigation into the Greenbelt decision.
Premier Doug Ford’s chief of staff provided a response to Lysyk’s findings on behalf of the government, which was included in the report.
The response cites the need for the government to increase the supply of housing to address the ongoing housing affordability crisis and keep up with Ontario’s rapidly growing population.
Bah ha ha! “Sorry, but the people were hungry, so we ordered our friends some caviar.” Ridiculous. Utterly contemptible. Any sane province would hammer the government into oblivion over this. I have no respect for any business or administration that uses a crisis to enrichen themselves. Sadly, they’ll probably get away with it. Just to make it clear, there is no land shortage; just merely an opportunity to sell high-priced, wasteful properties.