Ontario’s NDP Welcomes Special Report on Ford Governent’s Controversial Handling of Greenbelt Lands

“The walls are closing in for this government. One way or another, the truth about Ford’s Greenbelt dealings is coming out of the backrooms and into the light.”                      – Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

A Statement from Ontario NDP Official Opposition Party Leader Marit Stiles

Posted May 27^th, 2024 on Niagara At Large

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles

QUEEN’S PARK – Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, released the following statement after the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) confirmed she will be publishing a special report into the Ford government’s handling of documents and records related to the Greenbelt.

“The NDP welcomes this special report. We have been deeply concerned by revelations of deleted emails, the use of personal accounts, and other apparent attempts to cover-up the government’s actions as it schemed to give preferential treatment to well-connected Greenbelt speculators.

“This report will provide a clearer understanding of the government’s conduct.

“Reports like these are rare and very serious. The IPC’s 2013 special report on the Liberal gas plant scandal triggered a police investigation, eventually sending the Liberal Premier’s chief of staff to prison.

“The walls are closing in for this government. One way or another, the truth about Ford’s Greenbelt dealings is coming out of the backrooms and into the light.”

Background

• * On April 15, 2024, Stiles provided the IPC with evidence (https://mcusercontent.com/353019c4e982ae7eb8ea53150/files/25662217-acbf-bb28-00b6-4917c3f1202c/2024.04.15_Stiles_to_IPC_re_non_compliance_with_FIPPA_ARA.pdf) that the Ford government tried to avoid compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, including:
•  
• Emails that used the code word G* (https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-greenbelt-code-words/#:~:text=They%20show%20that%20in%20at,staff%20to%20then%2Dmunicipal%20affairs) in place of Greenbelt
• Use of the Premier’s personal phone (https://globalnews.ca/news/9892929/doug-ford-faces-questions-personal-phone/) for government business
• Inconsistencies in testimony (https://globalnews.ca/news/10241644/greenbelt-patrick-sackville-email/) concerning the Greenbelt
• * On May 21, the IPC responded (https://mcusercontent.com/353019c4e982ae7eb8ea53150/files/9223d331-6bf6-2e5c-592f-ba26606968d5/2024.05.22_IPC_response_to_letter_re_FIPPA_ARA.pdf) , revealing that they have 19 active files concerning requests for records related to the Greenbelt – so many that they have decided to dedicate an entire special report on access-to-information and record-keeping relating to changes to the Greenbelt.
• * In 2013 (https://www.ipc.on.ca/en/resources-and-decisions/deleting-accountability-record-management-practices-political-staff-special-investigation-report) , revelations in an IPC report triggered a police investigation that eventually resulted in jail time for Liberal Premier Dalton McGuity’s chief of staff in relation to the destruction of records during the gas plant scandal.
• * Ford’s government is currently under active investigation by the RCMP for the Greenbelt scandal. This report follows special reports on the Greenbelt from the Integrity Commissioner and Auditor General – both explosive reports that resulted in the resignation of multiple top Ford staffers.

A Footnote from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large – The video below, of Ford caught on tape promising developers that he would open up “chunks” of the Greenbelt for low-density sprawl, was taken before Ford’s Conservatives were elected to government in 2018, and shows that Ford has always had plans to pave over these precious food-growing lands. To watch, click on the screen immediately below –

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