Steve Clark resigns as Ontario housing minister

MPP Steve Clark has resigned from his position as Ontario’s Housing Minister.

MPP Steve Clark has resigned from his position as Ontario’s Housing Minister.

In a letter posted to social media, Clark says the housing crisis “demands someone who is not a distraction from the important work that needs to be done.”

“Although my initial thought was that I could stay in this role and establish a proper process so that these mistakes don’t happen again, I realize that my presence will only cause a further distraction from the important work that needs to be done ad that I need to take accountability for what has transpired,” he wrote.

Clark remains a member of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party and the representative for his riding of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

His resignation from cabinet comes amid two damning Greenbelt reports that outlined a deeply flawed process that favoured certain developers and lacked transparency.

It also comes as Ontario’s integrity commissioner recommended Clark be reprimanded in the Legislature for “failing to oversee the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected to development.”

As a result, he was found to have breached sections 2 and 3(2) of the Member’s Integrity Act, which pertain to conflicts of interest and the use of insider information.