Lysyk also concludes the Ontario government failed to consider the environmental, agricultural and financial risks and impacts of the move in 2022 to remove some lands while adding others to the protected Greenbelt.
Premier Doug Ford and Clark both told Lysyk that they were unaware that the land chosen for removal was controlled by Amato. Lysyk launched a value-for-money probe in January after a joint request from all three opposition leaders. “In the new report, the auditor general found that the chief of staff to the minister of housing hand-picked the land sites that would be removed from the Greenbelt – 92 per cent of which were suggested to the chief of staff by prominent and wealthy developers who had inside access to ministry staff, and who would be the direct beneficiaries of the land swaps,” the Liberals said in their statement.
The Liberals are also calling on the provincial government to freeze all development on the lands involved, “and end the multi-billion-dollar wealth transfer that has come at the unnecessary expense of our protected greenspaces, our sources of water, and the health and well-being of future generations.”
Amato then directed this “Greenbelt Project Team” to not disclose any information and had them sign non-disclosure agreements.