A day after the resignation of the chief of staff to Ontario’s Housing Minister, the Ontario Provincial Police said it has referred the investigation into the Greenbelt scandal to the RCMP due to conflict-of-interest concerns.
“To avoid any potential perceived conflict of interest, the OPP referred this matter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),” said OPP spokesman Bill Dickson on Aug. 23. “In order to protect the integrity of the process, it would not be appropriate to provide any further comment.”
The announcement comes after a report from Ontario’s auditor general found that the provincial government’s decision to open up parts of the Greenbelt—an environmentally protected zone that surrounds the Greater Toronto Area—to housing construction lacked environmental and financial analyses and was favourable to a handful of developers, giving them a potential $8 billion in profits.
According to the report, senior political staffer Ryan Amato was the head of an internal project to select the properties that were later opened up to development.
Mr. Amato resigned on Aug. 22.
“The Premier’s Office has accepted Ryan Amato’s resignation as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, effective immediately,” Ivana Yelich, Premier Doug Ford’s deputy chief of staff, said in a brief statement.
In his resignation letter, Mr. Amato said he has been “unfairly depicted” in recent weeks and that he has acted appropriately.
“I am confident that I have acted appropriately, and that a fair and complete investigation would reach the same conclusion. However, these public statements have made it impossible, as a practical matter, for me to continue in my present role,” the letter said.
Both Mr. Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark have said they weren’t aware of the way Mr. Amato chose the specific sites and weren’t aware of the properties until just days before that information was presented to the cabinet. Neither commented on Mr. Amato’s resignation.
The RCMP did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for comment.
