Ontario Housing Minister Broke Ethics Rules in Greenbelt Land Swap: Integrity Commissioner

Steve Clark, then-minister of municipal affairs and housing for Ontario, speaks to reporters at the Queen’s Park legislature in Toronto on Nov. 16, 2022. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Ontario’s integrity commissioner has concluded Steve Clark, the province’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, violated the Integrity Act in deciding which land should be removed from the protected Greenbelt Plan, and recommended he be reprimanded.

“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.

Mr. Wake found that Mr. Clark breached ethics rules by failing to oversee the land selection process, which allowed private developers to further their business interests, according to a 166-page report filed Aug. 30 in the Legislature, as first reported by CBC News. The developers stand to profit in the order of $8 billion dollars.

“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 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. Subsequently, the opposition filed a complaint with the integrity commissioner’s office.

Mr. Wake’s report establishes that Mr. Clark’s former chief of staff, Ryan Amato, was involved in the selection of 14 of the 15 properties removed from the Greenbelt, providing an “advantage” to developers who had previously approached the senior staff.

The ethics commissioner said Mr. Amato came into the ministry position “untrained and unsupervised” from his post as director of stakeholder relations in the Transportation Ministry. Mr. Wake reviewed evidence from Mr. Clark and 61 other witnesses, and thousands of pages of emails, documents, maps, and text messages, the report indicates.

“The evidence paints a picture of a process marked by misinterpretation, unnecessary hastiness and deception,” wrote Mr. Wake.

“It shows that Mr. Amato advised Minister Clark to ‘leave it with me’ as he embarked on a chaotic and almost reckless process that I find led to an uninformed and opaque decision which resulted in the creation of an opportunity to further the private interests of some developers improperly.”

The commissioner said that Mr. Amato asked certain developers to send him more information, and they “seized the opportunity” to influence him. Mr. Wake found Mr. Amato “was operating largely alone and undirected.”

Auditor General Report

Mr. Amato resigned on Aug. 22, after Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released a report in August that said some developers received preferential treatment. The former staffer denied any wrongdoing.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office issued a memo in mid-August announcing the creation of a working group to implement most of the recommendations contained in a report on the protected Greenbelt written by Ms. Lysyk.

The memo also reminded senior government staff that they must follow “rules regarding conflict of interest and political activity.”

The Ontario government has previously indicated it will be taking steps to implement 14 of the 15 recommendations that came from Ms. Lysyk. According to Mr. Ford, the recommendation to review the decision to open up the specified 7,400 acres of Greenbelt will not be revisited.

In her report, the auditor general stated the selection of sites, which took place rapidly over a three-week period, was “not transparent, objective, or fully informed.”

Commissioner Wake came to similar conclusions, placing responsibility on Mr. Clark. The commissioner said it was “incumbent on the minister... to supervise his staff.” He said that under the Integrity Act, undue carelessness or inattention do not remove accountability to oversee important policies or decisions arising out of their office.

The commissioner said the minister misinterpreted his mandate’s timing for Greenbelt land removal, leading to a “rushed process with unfortunate results.”

Furthermore, according to Mr. Wake, the minister withdrew from supervision and directed “this highly significant initiative,” within the department, into the hands of a newly appointed chief of staff with no experience. The ethics overseer described Mr. Amato as, “drinking from a fire hose, trying to grasp all of his new responsibilities.”

Finally, said the commissioner, Mr. Clark took the Greenbelt proposal to cabinet for approval, without asking any questions of his deputy minister or chief of staff as to how the properties had been chosen.

Mr. Clark’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ivana Yelich, Mr. Ford’s deputy chief of staff, said the government acknowledges the findings.

“We’ve acknowledged areas where we need to improve; the Integrity Commissioner reiterated that today, and we’ll continue to work to strengthen the process moving forward,” Ms. Yelich said in an emailed statement.

Mr. Ford’s office added that Mr. Clark “will continue to work towards delivering on our promise to build at least 1.5 million homes and ensure public trust and confidence is maintained every step of the way.”

A day after Mr. Amato resigned from his position, the Ontario Provincial Police said any potential investigation into the Greenbelt scandal has been referred to the RCMP due to conflict-of-interest concerns.

Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.