Auditor General to Investigate Greenbelt Development

The Ontario integrity commissioner and the auditor general will be investigating Doug Ford government’s plans to develop the Greenbelt.

Based on a complaint from NDP leader Marit Stiles, the greenbelt plan will now be investigated. In a statement, Stiles said, “I am relieved to see that this matter is being treated with the seriousness that it deserves and pleased to see this response from the Integrity Commissioner and the Auditor General. Ontarians are owed answers about the Greenbelt, and I am confident that today is a step in the right direction to understanding what happened. I am hopeful that Ontarians will be able to get answers in a thorough, timely manner because of these investigations.”

After multiple media outlets reported that large developers had purchased Greenbelt land, Stiles submitted the request on December 8.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Stiles said, “The whole point of this is to shine a light, I think in some of the dark corners, to see whether or not anything has actually been conducted improperly.” He further added, “These are rich developers, these are donors to the (Progressive) Conservative Party and so we want to make sure that they weren’t given any kind of special heads-up or that they weren’t given any special treatment here. Obviously, the result of the government’s change of heart … is going to benefit and make a lot of money for very few people.”

However, Premiere Ford has denied the wrongdoings like tipping off the developers ahead of the public announcement.

In a statement released on the behalf of Clark on Wednesday mentioned that the Ontario government will be working in full cooperation with the auditor general by providing any further details on its plans to build new homes on formerly protected land.

Prabhnoor Kaur