McNaughton is third Ford cabinet minister to resign in past 3 weeks
CTV
Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced on Friday he is stepping away from politics after accepting a job in the private sector. McNaughton is the third minister to resign from Premier Doug Ford's cabinet this month, though he said his departure is not connected to the unfolding Greenbelt development scandal.
Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced on Friday he is stepping away from politics after accepting a job in the private sector.
McNaughton is the third minister to resign from Premier Doug Ford's cabinet this month, though he said his departure is not connected to the unfolding Greenbelt development scandal.
“I realize that recent events will cause some to speculate about the reasons for my departure. I want those people to know that my decision is completely unrelated to those events,” he said in a statement.
In his own statement, Ford thanked McNaughton for his service and lauded his accomplishments on the labour file.
“I’m very grateful for Monte’s work as a key member of our team, both as minister of infrastructure and, more recently, minister of labour, immigration, training, and skills development,” Ford said.
The high-profile resignation comes a day after Ford announced his government would reverse its controversial plans to carve up the province’s Greenbelt and develop housing.
In August, Ontario’s auditor general found that the decision-making process regarding the Greenbelt “favoured certain developers” whose 15 land sites on the protected green space could have seen a more than an $8.3 billion increase in value.