EXCLUSIVE: 2018 Ontario housing minister mandate letter promised to ‘protect the Greenbelt’
Steve Clark was first tapped to be Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in 2018, his directions from Premier Doug Ford were clear: his ministry was not to touch Ontario’s Greenbelt and instead Clark was explicitly instructed to protect the 2-million acres of land around the Greater Toronto Area.Four years later, amid a housing shortage crisis, the Ford government tore up that pledge, throwing itself into a scandal that forced Clark and his chief of staff to resign.Global News obtained the 2018 mandate letters which contain the specific instructions given to the Ontario cabinet ministers by Premier Doug Ford after his inaugural election.For five years, the Ford government has fought to keep these letters private, asserting that they related to internal cabinet deliberations and should be kept confidential.Global News can exclusively reveal, for the first time, the contents of the letters in a new series, ‘Mandated.’Premier Doug Ford’s election in 2018 marked a sea change moment in Ontario politics.The Liberal government, which had been in power for 15 years, was brought to a crippling end, ushering in a people-centric government that was determined to not lose sight of ethics and accountability.In the build-up to the 2018 provincial election, Ford was forced to alter his campaign after touching what could be considered one of the third rails of Ontario politics: the Greenbelt.In February of that year, Ford was recorded on video promising his government would “open up a big chunk” of the Greenbelt for affordable housing developments.“I’ve already talked to some of the biggest developers in this country,” Ford said of his conversation with builders.
“I wish I could say it was my idea, but it was their idea as
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