He preferred to present the government’s first-quarter fiscal results, focus on Ontario’s deficit projection for 2023-24. But reporters preferred a response from Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy to the Greenbelt controversy in his riding.
“The 100 people I talked to say ‘build,’” he answered. “That’s what I hear and that’s why we’re going to continue on our build.”
Eight days ago, Bonnie Lysyk presented what is her final report as provincial auditor general. In its 93 pages, the report reveals that the Ford government’s aim to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, does not require the opening up of the Greenbelt. Period.
Further, the report illustrated that the Ford government’s decision to release those 7,400 acres of Greenbelt lands for housing development was chosen under heavy influence from developers well-connected to the Ford administration.
“More troubling still,” Lysyk said at her media conference last week, “the process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to (Housing Minister Steve Clark’s) chief of staff. … (Those developers) could ultimately see more than a collective $8.3 billion increase to the value of their properties.”
The Greenbelt is 2 million acres of farmland and parkland (larger than Prince Edward Island), that is home to thousands of wildlife species, prime agricultural land, and the natural filtration system for millions of Ontarians’ drinking water (not to mention the generator of millions of Ontario tourism tax dollars via its green spaces, hiking trails and farmers market produce).
Despite the damning evidence of apparent corruption presented by Lysyk’s audit, however, Finance Minister Bethlenfalvy preferred to acknowledge the 100 people he says he’s talked to in his Pickering-Uxbridge riding as a bellwether of public sentiment.
Might I suggest, in addition, that voters in Pickering-Uxbridge consider evidence tabled by investigative journalists at The Narwhal and Toronto Star newspapers.
Since Premier Ford’s release of the so-called “More Homes Built Faster Act” Bill 23 to open up the Greenbelt and remove fees to developers for the provision of sewers, roads and transit lanes, reporters have learned that certain developers had connections behind closed doors (i.e. like inside trading) about Greenbelt lands to be opened up for business.
Indeed, Lysyk’s report specifically illustrates that it wasn’t government who tipped off developers but vice versa.
“A small group of developers,” reporter Fatima Syed told podcast Front Burner this week, “was able to deliver to the minister of municipal affairs chief of staff, the senior most non-elected political staffer in that ministry … Ryan Amato, a bunch of packages about lands that they owned and wanted opened for development.”
Amato collected all these packages, Syed continued, and then hand-delivered them to a team of public servants, called “the Greenbelt Project Team,” who covertly determined whether these lands should be opened to development.
The Narwhal learned, for example, that this team told Amato some of these Greenbelt lands don’t have appropriate infrastructure (sewage and electricity lines or transit and emergency services). And Amato told them to disregard those issues.
“The fact that this non-elected political staffer was able to do all of this and his actions resulted in an $8.3 billion property value increase minimum to developers who own 92 per cent of the Greenbelt lands opened up is wild,” Syed said.
“In addition, it wasn’t just members of that (Greenbelt Project) Team that (were) made to sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), but literally anybody who had anything to do with the Greenbelt … 93 in total were signed, according to the auditor general’s report.”
Even more important, the suggestion that decisions of such environmental and financial magnitude – again, made by this non-elected political staffer – were not known by his boss, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, nor his boss’s boss, Premier Doug Ford, nor for that matter Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy, defies imagination.
$8.3 billion goes unnoticed in all three provincial minister’s offices? That’s like saying the premier doesn’t listen to the news each day, or the housing minister doesn’t see lumber price hikes, or the finance minister missed a Bank of Canada interest rate change.
And so I repeat, instead of recommending the reversal of what his own boss admits was a “flawed process” to unnecessarily release Greenbelt lands for development, the Ontario finance minister has chosen to listen to the 100 people he said he’s talked to.
Well, Minister Bethlenfalvy, I’d suggest that you might canvass a few more of the 94,124 registered voters in Pickering-Uxbridge.
You might discover that as many or more do not support your government’s decision to build on Greenbelt lands nor the manner in which you determine policy.
EXCELLENT COLUMN by Ted Barris: “What Bethlenfalvy’s 100 don’t see”
Finance minister had such a lame response to reporters about the Greenbelt
controversy in his riding … a hugely important issue at this time … speaking to 100 people … to respond like that makes him look like a total idiot in my opinion … … does he think he is talking to STUPID?
Please keep up the pressure Mr Barris!!!!!!!
Thank you for that detailed reminder of the values the Ford Gov is using for the people. F(*&#@ criminals
As all policy must be created based on the worsening climate crisis the Ford Gov must publish its assessment of the IPCC climate change WARNINGS. Because there is growing awarness that there are corp leaders and politicians who have fraufulently assesed , acted with willful blindness, criminal negligence to those warnings.
Ref The Petroleum Papers.
An international campaign is beign waged to prosecute the organized crime, corp leaders and politicians causing extensive, negligent, long term damage to the env, to our life support systems (LSS).
Did you MP inform, consult, warn you . Or did they fail to take action to protect the env and humanity from ecocide .
Ref @StopEcocideInternational
@StopEcocideCanada
Best Wishes
Gordon Chamberlain Cpl Rtd CD II ,UNEF II, UN Peacekeeping medal
PS I have always enjoyed you interviews on CBC about your books . Look forward to reading more of them.
Ted, thank you for presenting the facts about what happened. It is so unfortunate that Developers can influence our Government like this. And when it is pointed out that there (the Ontario Gov’t) decision was a mistake, the leaders of the majority party keep spouting the need for 1.5million homes. Where is the plans for major high-rise development along the Toronto Danforth/Bloor subway stops? Oh yeah – that isn’t the solution. Build out in the suburbs on land that was protected for the environment and our future. We need more rail transit into Toronto and back to the surrounding GTA communities. And of course, affordable housing – not in the Green Belt!