Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark has tendered his resignation from his cabinet role, saying the housing crisis in the province “demands someone who is not a distraction from the important work that needs to be done.”
“Although my initial thought was that I could stay in this role and establish a proper process so that these mistakes don’t happen again, I realize that my presence will only cause a further distraction from the important work that needs to be done and that I need to take accountability for what has transpired,” he
said in a letter to Premier Doug Ford on Sept. 4.
“As someone who has given my life to serving the people through our democratic institutions, I feel that it is my responsibility to adhere to the principles of Ministerial accountability,” he
added on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Mr. Clark’s move comes days after a scathing report from the province’s integrity commissioner, who found he violated ethics rules for the way the government opened up parts of the protected Greenbelt to development.
“Minister Clark’s lack of oversight led to some developers being alerted to a potential change in the government’s position on the Greenbelt, resulting in their private interests being furthered improperly,” Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake
wrote in an Aug. 30 statement.
As a result, Mr. Clark was found to have
contravened sections 2 and 3(2) of the Members’ Integrity Act, which relate to conflict of interest and insider information.
“Accordingly, I have recommended to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that Minister Clark be reprimanded for his failure to comply with the Act,” Mr. Wake said in his report.
‘In Favour of Certain Developers’
In December 2022, Ontario
amended the Greenbelt Plan boundary created in 2005 to protect some of Canada’s most productive farmland, and removed or redesignated 7,400 acres across 15 sites to build 50,000 homes.
However, a
report by the province’s auditor general in August of this year found that about 92 percent of the 7,400 acres of land removed from the Greenbelt could be traced to three developers with direct access to Mr. Clark’s chief of staff Ryan Amato, who resigned on Aug. 22.
At a press conference on Aug. 9, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk
said the selection of 15 land sites opened for development “favoured certain developers.”
“The process was biased in favour of certain developers and landowners who had timely access to the housing minister’s chief of staff,” she said.
Ms. Lysyk’s report found that owners of the 15 land sites chosen through the process could stand to see their land rise in value by some $8.3 billion.
While Mr. Amato has denied any wrongdoing, both Mr. Wake’s and Ms. Lysyk’s reports put much blame on the former staffer who allegedly proposed 14 of the 15 Greenbelt sites. They also concluded Mr. Clark failed to oversee his staff.
Mr. Ford has said that his office is creating a working group to implement most of the recommendations in Ms. Lysyk’s report.
Responding to Mr. Clark’s resignation, Mr. Ford thanked him for his years of service.
“There’s still more to do as our government keeps building the homes our growing province needs,” the premier
said on X.
“As we do, I have no doubt
@SteveClarkPC will continue to serve his community well as an important part of our team at Queen’s Park.”
Mr. Ford has been defending Mr. Clark and had earlier said he would not heed calls to fire him.
Opposition Reaction
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles
says the premier should recall the legislature and return the land that was taken out of the Greenbelt.
“Now it’s time for Doug Ford to face the music,” Ms. Stiles said in a statement after Mr. Clark’s resignation.
John Fraser, interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, said Mr. Clark’s resignation is “the first step in what needs to happen to get to the bottom of this $8.3 Billion cash-for-your-land scheme.”
“What needs to happen next, is the Premier needs to open the books on the Greenbelt land swaps and waive Cabinet Privilege as it relates to this decision,” Mr. Fraser
said in a statement on Sept. 4.
Mr. Ford has indicated that the reason for taking land out of the Greenbelt was to build more housing to help solve the province’s housing crisis.
“We understand the process can be better. But our goal at the end of the day is to build 1.5 million homes. That’s the right thing to do,” Mr. Ford
said on Aug. 31.
Marnie Cathcart, Matthew Horwood, Tara MacIsaac, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
