Can anyone stop Ontario's Greenbelt land swap from going ahead? Here's what we know
CBC
After a scathing auditor general's report that found Ontario's decision to open up protected Greenbelt lands for housing was heavily influenced by a small group of developers who now stand to make billions, the big question is: Can anyone stop the controversial land swap from going ahead?
Parts of the Greenbelt, a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland from Niagara Falls to Peterborough were opened to development in a bid to get more housing built late last year.
Following the report by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk that found "the process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners," Premier Doug Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of 15 total recommendations.
The single recommendation Ford said his government won't accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse those decisions. Ford said the land will be used to build 50,000 homes desperately needed to help ease the province's housing crisis.
So what happens next? And is the land swap a done deal? Here's what we know.
One watchdog and one criminal authority are already involved.
Ontario's integrity commissioner, who has the power to recommend disciplinary measures on public servants, is considering a request to investigate if the housing minister's chief of staff, Ryan Amato, broke any ethics rules connected to the province's choice of Greenbelt land to open for development.
That's on top of an ongoing investigation into the Greenbelt land swaps at the request of NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who asked the office to look into the "curious timing" of developers' Greenbelt land purchases and whether they had been tipped off by Clark ahead of the government's announcement.
Both Ford and Clark have denied they had any knowledge of how Amato and his team were selecting sites for removal from the Greenbelt.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police, which can lay criminal charges and has access to broader investigative tools the auditor general doesn't, says it's still reviewing whether or not there's enough evidence to launch a full investigation.
Municipalities can stall developments by refusing to re-zone land still largely zoned for agricultural uses. They can also refuse any development applications made to local councils, said Tim Gray, the executive director of advocacy group Environmental Defence.
Environmental Defence, part of the Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, a coalition of advocacy groups, is working with municipalities that have spoken against the Greenbelt changes, such as Hamilton, to "not cooperate in any way," according to Gray.
The federal government could play a role in areas where it has jurisdiction.
One example is Rouge National Urban Park, which is adjacent to a swath of Greenbelt land opened for development. At a new conference on Thursday, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said staff will be looking at the auditor general's report and any elements that touch on the federal government's environmental impact assessment study on development happening around the park.
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