The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has launched a criminal investigation into the Ontario government’s controversial plan to develop parts of the state’s protected ‘Greenbelt’. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and while the RCMP did not detail the specifics of the investigation, it was noted that their Sensitive and Internal Investigations (SII) division would be handling the case. The SII is known for its role in investigating corruption and political offenses.
The investigation follows the recent plan released by the Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, and his government to allow portions of the ‘Greenbelt’ – two million acres of protected land near the most densely inhabited part of the province – to be developed by private entities. The decision to commence legal proceedings comes two weeks after a report by the Ontario’s Auditor General noted that certain developers were given ‘preferential treatment’ as part of the development project. This revelation led the RCMP to consider further probing into the matter after an initial recommendation from the Ontario Provincial Police.
In an interesting escalation, last month saw Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, resign from his position. His resignation came in response to Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner, J. David Wake, finding that he breached the province’s Members’ Integrity Act by inadequately supervising the land development selection process. In addition, Clark’s chief of staff was also implicated in the report, which noted that developers who contacted him proactively had their land excluded from the ‘Greenbelt’, instead of initiating a public call for submissions.
Concurrently, separate investigations into the incident were opened by the Integrity Commissioner and Auditor General in January. This happened after allegations were raised that governmental officials informed developers about the project before publicly announcing the plan.
In a marked change of stance, Premier Ford backtracked on his decision to allow the development of these lands on September 21. He backed his reversal by reminding the public of his prior pledges to safeguard the ‘Greenbelt’.
Find further details of this unfolding story on the original report.