They benefited from Doug Ford’s Greenbelt land swap. Now, these developers are going to court to dodge the auditor’s general’s questions

Prominent developers say the auditor general’s demand for records and interviews are vague and overreach her authority.

Thestar.com
July 12, 2023
Sheila Wang
Morgan Bocknek

Two developers who benefited from the Ford government’s controversial Greenbelt land swap have gone to court to fight the auditor general’s attempts to interview them as part of her investigation.

The prominent developers -- Michael Rice and Silvio De Gasperis -- have separately filed court applications to block or delay the auditor general’s order they be interviewed under oath and hand over relevant records.

In January, Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk launched a value-for-money audit into the government’s decision to open up nearly 3,000 hectares of the Greenbelt for housing development.

Her announcement came amid concerns developers were secretly tipped off about the government’s plans -- an allegation Premier Doug Ford denies. Rice’s company bought two parcels of protected land in King Township for $80 million just weeks before they were among those opened up for development.

In a notice of application filed on July 5, Rice said Lysyk’s summons that he be interviewed and produce documents overreached her authority and her mandate to watch over the administration of Ontario’s finances.

“The auditor general’s role is not to investigate, audit, and/or examine private citizens under oath, or go on fishing expeditions with respect to their private corporate affairs,” Rice said in the application.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk launched a value-for-money audit into the government's decision to open up nearly 3,000 hectares of the Greenbelt for housing development.

The auditor general had asked Rice to attend their offices in April for an interview in connection with “an audit looking at the recent changes to the Greenbelt and their economic implication, including their effect on Ontario’s housing goals,” Rice’s filing says.

Rice’s lawyers responded saying the developer would not be able to contribute anything meaningful to the audit. The auditor general’s office doubled down, saying Rice could deliver “insight that is material to our audit,” according to the court filings.

Rice’s court filing says the auditor general’s request for “all relevant records” and correspondence was overly broad, and any records he has are not relevant. He’s seeking a court order to quash the provincial watchdog’s summons, or at the very least, prevent him from having to share records he considers commercially sensitive.

An auditor general spokesperson said the audit findings will be released by September, but declined to answer questions about the developers’ court filings or whether other developers have spoken with auditors.

Rice and his companies are among the nine developers who benefited from the Greenbelt land swap that have donated significant amounts to the Ontario Progressive Conservative party.

Ontario’s political donations data shows Rice’s companies, someone with his name, and people whose names match those of his senior staff, have donated $47,000 to the Progressive Conservatives since 2014.

A joint investigation by the Toronto Star and the Narwhal found of the 15 areas that were slated to be removed from the Greenbelt, eight included properties purchased in the four years since the election of Doug Ford, who in 2018 was recorded telling a private audience he would “open a big chunk” of the protected area should he become premier.

That includes the land purchased by Rice’s company, as well as some by a company run by Silvio De Gasperis.

TACC Developments, headed by De Gasperis, paid $50 million in May 2021 for 100 acres of farmland north of Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan. Large portions of the property are in the Greenbelt and were undevelopable at the time.

Through his companies and partnership, De Gasperis owns land in three other areas that are being removed from the Greenbelt.

In court filings first reported by the CBC, De Gasperis says the auditor general’s summons is “an abuse of process” that is “vague and overbroad.”

Developer Silvio De Gasperis has gone to court to fight the auditor general's attempts to interview him as part of her investigation into the Ford government's controversial Greenbelt land swap.

In a statement, Neil Wilson, a lawyer representing TACC, said the company is “not the best source of information on these broad subject matters” and has offered alternative sources to assist the auditor general’s investigation.

“At this point, the scope and goal of the auditor general’s investigation are unclear,” Wilson said. “If it is a value for money audit, we cannot understand how it could be achieved at this stage, primarily because the costs of development to the developers are unknown.”

Some of the most notable parcels held by De Gasperis are within the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve, located east of Toronto in Pickering. The preserve protects prime farmland and sensitive waterways, abutting Rouge National Urban Park.

The Star/Narwhal analysis located 24 properties in the preserve owned by companies listing Silvio De Gasperis as a director. Purchased mostly in 2003 -- with one lot added in 2004 and two in 2016 -- for a combined $8.6 million, the lands add up to more than 1,300 acres.

Wilson said the vast majority of these land holdings were acquired prior to the existence of the Greenbelt and the 2005 Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve Act which prevented the use of lands in the preserve for anything but agriculture.

He said TACC is continuing to assist a separe investigation into the Greenbelt land swap being undertaken by the provincial integrity commissioner.

The Ford government announced last November its plan to open up 7,400 acres of the protected Greenbelt lands for new housing so developers can build 50,000 homes on that land. The province would add 9,400 acres in other areas to the protected land instead.

The surprise move drew ire from the public and was soon followed by parallel investigations from both integrity commissioner J. David Wake and the auditor general.