Ford government tables bill to restore Greenbelt

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a new Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra introduced legislation on Monday to reverse the Ford government’s controversy-sunk Greenbelt land removals.

The bill comes three-and-a-half weeks after Premier Doug Ford apologized for his government’s plan to allow developers to build homes on 7,400 acres of previously protected land.

“I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise, and for that, I’m very, very sorry,” Ford said at a news conference in Niagara Falls on Sept. 21.

The plan had been a recurring controversy for the government since it was unveiled last Nov. 4. It became the source of a full-fledged crisis for Ford and the Progressive Conservatives this past summer.

Ontario’s auditor general and integrity commissioner separately published scathing reports in August after investigating how the plan was conceived. Both provincial watchdogs determined the land-selection process was biased in favour of developers who had access to the staffer who orchestrated it.

Many of the developers standing to benefit from the changes had been previously reported as sharing personal connections with Ford or having been longtime major donors to the PC party. The auditor general projected that those owning land freed up for development in 15 different sites would benefit by upwards of $8.3 billion due to the increase in their value.

Before Ford promised to undo the Greenbelt removals, two cabinet ministers and two senior staffers involved in the scandal resigned. The PCs also experienced significant damage to their public opinion poll standing.

Calandra teased the contents of his Greenbelt restoration bill in the weeks between Ford saying the PCs would walk back the plan and when the government set off on following through with his promise on Monday.

The housing minister promised to re-protect the removed lands, “restore” special additional protections to Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve lands, and “codify” the Greenbelt’s boundaries in legislation.

“We will protect the Greenbelt once and for all,” Calandra said on Sept. 25.

The opposition NDP attempted to restore the Greenbelt with legislation of their own a few weeks ago. On Sept. 25, the first day of the fall sitting at the Ontario legislature, NDP Leader Marit Stiles tried tabling her Greenbelt Restoration Act — which went no further than that.

In a rare procedural move, PC MPPs voted down the bill at its introductory stage.

The NDP bill that was defeated included provisions meant to protect the government from being sued by developers over its reversal.

“We also are not going to be providing any compensation with respect to any potential changes that were contemplated,” Calandra said in question period on Sept. 27. 

The Greenbelt scandal continues to be a cloud over the Ford government. Last Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that its sensitive and international investigations (SII) unit is investigating whether there was any criminal element behind the Greenbelt changes.

Ford’s office said in a statement that it would “fully co-operate” with the investigation.

(Editor’s note: This story was published immediately after Calandra tabled his bill shortly after 1 p.m. This story will be updated by late afternoon on Monday to include more about its specifics, which are only made public once a bill is published.)