RCMP called in to investigate Ford government Greenbelt controversy | 24CA News
The RCMP has confirmed that it has taken over the investigation into the Ford authorities’s Greenbelt land swap controversy from Ontario Provincial Police.
“The RCMP can confirm that we received a referral from the OPP to investigate irregularities in the disposition of the Greenbelt surrounding Toronto,” the service stated in a press release.
“We will review and assess the information received and will take appropriate action as deemed necessary.”
On Tuesday morning, provincial police introduced that they’d handed the investigation over to their federal counterparts in an effort to keep away from any “perceived conflict of interest.”
A spokesperson for Ontario Premier Doug Ford instructed Global News that the choice at hand the investigation over to the RCMP was made independently.
“The government is currently working to implement all 14 recommendations put forward in the report related to process,” Ivana Yelich stated in an emailed assertion.
The Greenbelt investigation started after Attorney General Bonnie Lysak launched an explosive report on Aug. 9 which stated Ontario builders had acquired “preferential treatment” and had direct affect over the Ford authorities’s determination to extract lands from the Greenbelt.
According to the report, the province started engaged on eradicating protections to the Greenbelt land as quickly because it gained re-election in 2022.
Lysak launched the report after a six-month investigation and interviews with a lot of these concerned, together with Ford, who denied any wrongdoing.
The report offers hyperlinks between the Premier’s Office, Housing Minister Steve Clark, a central political staffer who drove the undertaking, and builders who benefitted from the deal.
The transfer to raise the protections on the 15 parcels, containing about 7,400 acres of land, raised their worth for the property homeowners by $8.3 billion, in line with the auditor normal.
Lysak’s report additionally famous that six staffers got three weeks to resolve which areas of land ought to have their protections eliminated. It additionally stated that a lot of the areas which have been into consideration got here from Steve Clark’s chief of employees
On Monday, Ford’s workplace confirmed that Ryan Amato, chief of employees to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing had resigned.
Ford accepted Amato’s resignation “effective immediately,” the premier’s workplace stated.
The news of Amato’s resignation has spurred opposition celebration’s requires his former boss, housing minister, Steve Clark to observe swimsuit.
“The Auditor General’s report was very clear—this staffer obviously didn’t act independently,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles stated on Twitter. “Now it’s time the Minister take responsibility, do the right thing, and step down.”
*With information from Global News’ Isaac Callan and Colin D’Mello.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
