Doug Ford shuffles cabinet after housing minister resigns over Greenbelt plan

Doug Ford shuffles cabinet after housing minister resigns over Greenbelt plan

Steve Clark resigned earlier in the day after a scathing report from the province’s integrity commissioner found he violated ethics rules

Published Sep 04, 2023  •  2 minute read

Premier Doug Ford
FILE: Premier Doug Ford at Transform Automotive in London May 24 to announce new funds for skilled jobs training. Photo by Mike Hensen /Mike Hensen/The London Free Pres

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffled his cabinet on Monday, hours after his embattled housing minister stepped down from his post.

Steve Clark resigned earlier in the day after a scathing report from the province’s integrity commissioner found he violated ethics rules when Ontario opened up parts of the protected Greenbelt for development

Taking his spot is Paul Calandra, who was the long-term care minister. Calandra will remain as Government House Leader, while Stan Cho succeeds him as long-term care minister.

National Post

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

  • Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.
  • Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account.
  • National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
  • Support local journalism.

SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

  • Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events
  • Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account.
  • National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
  • Support local journalism.

REGISTER FOR MORE ARTICLES

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

  • Access articles from across Canada with one account.
  • Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
  • Enjoy additional articles per month.
  • Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Caroline Mulroney moves on to become president of the Treasury Board, and Prabmeet Sarkaria takes over her role as transportation minister. Mulroney remains responsible for Francophone affairs.

Ford said he has a “renewed team” in place.

“We’ll never stop working on behalf of the people of Ontario to build the homes, highways and public transit our growing communities need,” Ford said in a statement Monday evening.

Clark resigned just days after Ford backed him to continue on as housing minister.

Official Opposition New Democratic Party Leader Marit Stiles called the new cabinet a “slapdash team.”

“Mr. Ford can rearrange the deck chairs all he likes but it’s not going to change the fact that Ontarians are fed up with a corrupt government rigging the system to help a select few of their insiders get even richer — at everyone else’s expense,” Stiles said.

Last year, the province took about 2,995 hectares of land out of the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes and replaced them with about 3,804 hectares elsewhere.

The moves were part of the government’s pledge to address the housing crisis by promising to build 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

Two investigations into the Greenbelt land swap found the selection process was hasty and flawed, and favoured certain developers over others.

Ford has admitted to the poor selection process, but has otherwise said he did nothing wrong.

Both the integrity commissioner and the auditor general found Clark’s chief of staff, Ryan Amato, selected 14 of the 15 sites that were removed from the protected Greenbelt.

Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake found neither Clark nor Ford knew what Amato was up to.

He said Clark chose to “stick his head in the sand” after assigning the Greenbelt file to Amato.

Ford directed Clark in a mandate letter to look at a process to open up the Greenbelt shortly after the Progressive Conservatives’ big win in last year’s election.

The Canadian Press

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *