More secrecy won’t solve the housing crisis

June 26, 2023

GUELPH — Ontario Greens leader and MPP for Guelph Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to reports that Doug Ford gave feedback on a policy document that included information about the Greenbelt months before plans to open parcels for development were made public.

“The people of Ontario deserve a Premier who will be honest and transparent with them about schemes to open the Greenbelt to a handful of wealthy, well-connected speculators.

Over and over, this government has insisted that there is nothing to hide when it comes to their decision to open massive swaths of Greenbelt land for development.

If that’s the case, then why the continued attempts to hide information that would clear the air?

Ontarians have so many unanswered questions about how speculators knew when to buy the parcels of land that were meant to be protected in perpetuity.

It’s time for this government to be honest.

Southern Ontario has more than enough land available to build two million homes without ripping up the Greenbelt.

We need homes we can afford, in connected communities designed for people.

Not billion-dollar highways to million-dollar homes built to line the pockets of a few speculators.

In the interest of public transparency, I call on the Premier to release the details of his comments on the document in question.”

-30-