TORONTO — Ontario's housing minister offered an apology Thursday for the way the government removed land earmarked for development from the protected Greenbelt, a process two legislative watchdogs have said was hasty and flawed.
But Steve Clark will stay on in his job – despite repeated calls by critics for his resignation – after Premier Doug Ford backed the housing minister and defended the province’s Greenbelt plan.
Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake found Clark's chief of staff — who resigned last week — was the driving force behind the land swap that benefited certain land developers, and that the minister failed to oversee his staff. Ontario created the Greenbelt in 2005 to protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development.
"It may seem incredible that Minister Clark would have chosen to stick his head in the sand on such an important initiative being undertaken by his ministry but I believe that was exactly what he did," Wake wrote.
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