See my statement and newsletter on the Auditor General’s Greenbelt Report.
You may have seen that the Auditor General Bonnie Lysynk released a report titled Special Report on Changes to the Greenbelt.
The Greenbelt is an area of about 2 million acres of protected farmland, wetlands, and woodlands encircling the Greater Golden Horseshoe region. The Greenbelt was established by the Ontario Liberals in 2005 to permanently protect productive farmland and natural features from uncontrolled urban development.
The Auditor General’s report was in response to the Ontario government announcing that it was proposing to alter the boundary of the Greenbelt as a step in their plan to build 1.5 million homes and following a request from the leaders of the Ontario Liberals, Green Party, and NDP for a thorough investigation into the sale of these land parcels.
This report found that how the land sites were selected was not a transparent, fair, objective, or fully informed process. It proved what we already knew to be true – the sale of these parcels of land was done to benefit the few rich friends of the Ford government, to the tune of 8 billion dollars!
The report showed that there is sufficient land for the target of 1.5 million homes without the need to build on the Greenbelt. The Government’s own Housing Taskforce even made this clear in February 2022!
The Premier and Minister cannot hide from the facts of their inaction on affordable housing. Housing starts are down nearly 20% this year. The Government has still only implemented 4 of the 50 recommendations put forward by its own task force, 2 of those 4 just being a commitment to targets. Newcomers, young people, and families cannot afford to purchase or rent homes in Ontario. The Greenbelt plan will not solve this issue and will only promote sprawl and destroy farmland.
I have been vocally opposed to this ridiculous plan since the Government announced it in the fall. We hosted a Greenbelt Rally with hundreds of enraged Ontarians here in Beaches-East York and I have spoken countless times at Queen’s Park against it, plus at many other rallies! Our office continues to distribute Greenbelt lawn signs from Environmental Defense. I proposed dozens of amendments to Bills 23 and 39 in my work as a member of the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure, and Cultural Policy.
It’s outrageous and offensive that the Premier and the Minister of Housing are claiming ignorance to the actions of the Chief of Staff to the Minister. The Ontario Liberals and I call on the Minister to resign and for a full investigation into the sale of the Greenbelt. I strongly believe that the Government must adopt its own housing task force recommendations to end the housing crisis rather than cash out while destroying our beautiful environment. I thank the Auditor General, Bonnie Lysyk, for her courageous reporting and for bringing the facts to light.