Steve Clark says ‘I’m sorry’ for poor oversight in Greenbelt deals and vows to stay on as housing minister

The minister offered few explanations, evaded questions on why he didn’t provide better supervision as properties were selected for removal from Greenbelt protection and abruptly walked out of a news conference Thursday.

Thestar.com
Sept. 1, 2023
Rob Ferguson and Kristin Rushowy

A sombre Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark says he’s “sorry” for not keeping closer watch on a top aide as the $8.28 billion Greenbelt land swap scandal developed -- and vows to stay on despite a second damning report on his conduct.

But the minister offered few explanations, evaded questions on why he did not provide proper supervision as properties were chosen for removal from Greenbelt protection, and abruptly walked out of a news conference after just 15 minutes Thursday.

“I accept that I should have had greater oversight,” Clark told reporters amid the growing fallout from Wednesday’s report by provincial integrity commissioner J. David Wake and calls for him to resign.

“To Ontarians, I want to say very sincerely that I apologize I did not.”

Wake’s report said bluntly that Clark had his “head in the sand.”

The minister’s appearance came hours after Premier Doug Ford signalled Clark would keep his position regardless of the findings of the months-long investigation by the ethics watchdog into the Greenbelt land swap.

“Minister Clark is part of our team and will continue to be part of our team,” Ford said at Lakeshore Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke.

Stepping into the legislature’s media studio, a subdued Clark acknowledged being “overly reliant” on his staff.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job ... I take responsibility and I regret that the process that came under my watch didn’t meet expectations.”

The integrity commissioner’s probe determined Clark violated the Members’ Integrity Act “by failing to oversee the process by which lands in the Greenbelt were selected for development.”

Wake found Clark contravened the law governing the conduct of MPPs by allowing his chief of staff, Ryan Amato -- who resigned Aug. 22 -- to personally select 14 of the 15 plots of land removed from Greenbelt protection in order to build 50,000 houses.

The findings are in addition to a scathing report from auditor general Bonnie Lysyk on Aug. 9 that revealed the selection process bypassed input from civil servants, “favoured certain developers” and could result in an $8.28 billion cash windfall for them.

Both Ford and Clark have said they had no idea of the extent of Amato’s actions.

The integrity commissioner made a point of noting the minister “has not expressed any remorse for his own role in this affair.”

Clark’s attempt to remedy that fell flat given the government’s refusal to go back to the drawing board and use a more transparent process to select any properties for removal from the Greenbelt, critics maintained.

“Ontarians deserve so much better than fake apologies,” New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles said in a statement. “His words are meaningless without any action to back them up.”

Ford is refusing to fire Clark despite the parliamentary tradition of ministerial accountability and demands from opposition parties the minister resign -- something Clark himself frequently demanded of Liberal cabinet members in years past.

Asked for the rationale behind holding himself to a different standard, Clark did not offer one, replying “our government is committed to ensuring that we do better going forward.”

Opposition parties said they will keep pressuring Ford and Clark as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police determine whether to launch an investigation of Greenbelt “irregularities” after the file was referred to them by the Ontario Provincial Police to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

“It is simply not believable that one political staffer, a rookie chief of staff, was the sole mastermind behind this $8.3 billion scheme,” said interim Liberal Leader John Fraser.

“The longer Minister Clark is in his job, the more the stench and the smell of this thing rubs off on the premier.”

Wake is working on two more investigations, one into whether Amato broke the Public Service of Ontario Act through his “liaisons” with land developers, and another into a “stag and doe” party and wedding for one of Ford’s daughters with some developers in attendance.

Ford reiterated he is “not happy” with how the parcels of land were selected for developers as part of the government’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 -- part of an effort to ease a housing shortage that has sent prices skyrocketing -- but said Clark must forge ahead.

“We’re a government that gets things done,” he added, repeating his oft-used line “the buck stops with me” that Clark also invoked Thursday.

Rivals scoffed.

“It’s clear the buck doesn’t stop anywhere with this government,” said Green Leader Mike Schreiner.

In a sign the scandal may be weighing on Ford, during his appearance in Etobicoke he took issue with a reporter who asked at what point he will take personal responsibility for a flawed Greenbelt process.

“I’m sure you just walk down the street from your home. But do you know how many people don’t have a home? Ford said.

Ford later said: “I’m sorry if I offended his feelings.”

Fraser called for a legislative committee to hold special hearings and call witnesses into what happened with the Greenbelt lands -- similar to one the Conservatives and NDP forced former premier Dalton McGuinty’s minority Liberal government to hold on the gas plants scandal a decade ago.

But it is unlikely a majority Ford government would agree to that.

In his 165-page report, the integrity commissioner said Clark “misinterpreted the mandate letter (from the premier’s office) in relation to the Greenbelt particularly with respect to what was expected and by when, which led Mr. Amato to embark on a rushed and flawed process.”

That’s how prominent developers got 7,400 acres of environmentally sensitive land in the 2-million-acre Greenbelt surrounding the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“The evidence paints a picture of a process marked by misinterpretation, unnecessary hastiness and deception,” Wake added, calling Amato “untrained and unsupervised.”