Canadian police probe Ontario housing development scandal

CANADA’S national police force has opened an investigation into the Ontario government’s decision to allow tracts of protected land near Toronto to be used for housing, creating new political pressure for Premier Doug Ford. 

The probe comes after Ford’s government removed about 2,995 hectares of land from an area known as the Greenbelt, in which development is restricted. The decision immediately made those parcels far more valuable, but a report by the province’s auditor-general found that certain developers had received “preferential treatment” because they enjoyed special access to the housing minister’s chief of staff. 

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) sensitive and international investigations (SII) unit is conducting the probe, the police agency said in an email to Bloomberg News, confirming an earlier report by the Toronto Star. The RCMP did not say who are targets of the investigation, adding that it would not be providing further updates right now. 

The SII unit handles investigations into corruption and criminal allegations involving government officials. A spokesperson for the premier did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. 

The Greenbelt controversy forced the resignation of provincial Housing Minister Steve Clark and his chief of staff. After initially defending the decision, saying it was necessary to help meet the goal of increasing the housing supply, Ford reversed the policy in September, placing the land back under protected status.  

Ontario is the largest province, with 15.6 million people or 39 per cent of Canada’s population. It has added about 460,000 residents in a year, according to Statistics Canada estimates, contributing to a surge in rents and a rebound in home prices in a number of markets after last year’s slump. BLOOMBERG