Greenbelt

Environmental advocates are outraged by the Ford government’s suggestion that additional land in Ontario’s protected Greenbelt may be reviewed for possible housing development. 

Assessing 14 sites the government removed from the Greenbelt for housing development will be part of a larger review of all parcels of protected Greenbelt land, the Ontario premier said. Opposition leaders expressed concern the review will cause Ford to open up even more of the Greenbelt. 

Embattled Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark stepped down from his cabinet role on Monday following weeks of criticism over his handling of efforts to remove land from the province's protected Greenbelt.

Ford says Housing Minister Steve Clark has a tough job and will remain part of the team as the government tries to fulfil its promise to build 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

J. David Wake has found Clark failed to oversee the land selection process, which led to the private interests of certain developers being furthered improperly.

The Chiefs of Ontario, a group representing 133 First Nations, says it was "extremely" concerned by the issues raised by the province's auditor general in a damning report last week.

The relationship between the Ontario government and developers who benefited from having lands removed from the Greenbelt needs to be explored by an agency with criminal investigative powers in its quiver, writes Environmental Defence's Tim Gray.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has announced funding to aid public participation in its assessment of Ontario's plan to open up protected Greenbelt lands near a national urban park for development.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles is asking the province's integrity commissioner to consider within his Greenbelt investigation the premier and government staffers' reported use of personal phones and emails.

In a scathing report released Wednesday, Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk found the Doug Ford government’s 2022 decision to open part of the protected Greenbelt for development was the result of a deeply flawed and biased process.

Impassioned Hamilton residents and environmental advocates attended an anti-sprawl protest this week to push back against orders by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to build housing outside city boundaries.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his big-tent Progressive Conservative party have abandoned big-tent conservation and the principles of environmental preservation, writes freelance journalist Robert Lee.

Ontario's Greenbelt includes some of the best farmland in Canada, which has been protected for over 20 years. Experts and activists say Premier Doug Ford's plan to develop the area will exacerbate the housing crisis and slash food supply.

Habitats, natural resources and recreational greenspace are not as replaceable or moveable as the Doug Ford government's new policies make them out to be, according to conservation experts.

The Ford government’s Bill 23 claims that environmental protections are a hurdle to profits and affordable housing. In actuality, environmental regulations are guardrails, protecting us from a cliff of preventable flooding, environmental degradation, and sky-high infrastructure costs.