The Greenbelt Scandal

The Ontario Greenbelt is a 2-million-acre ring of protected farmland, wetlands, and forests encircling the Greater Toronto Area — the largest protected greenbelt in the world and a critical defence against urban sprawl. The Ford government's 2022 decision to open 15 parcels for development was not random: it was designed in a three-week process that excluded the government's own land-use planning experts and relied almost entirely on packages submitted by well-connected private developers.

The Auditor General found that 95% of the parcels were identified by Ryan Amato, chief of staff to Housing Minister Steve Clark — not by planners or civil servants — and that 92% of the total acreage came from packages handed to Amato by just two developers at a private industry event in September 2022. The process was, the AG wrote, not transparent, fair, objective, or fully informed.

The developers who owned 14 of the 15 parcels stood to gain $8.3 billion in increased property value — a public subsidy of staggering size with no benefit to Ontario taxpayers. Among the key beneficiaries: Silvio De Gasperis (TACC Developments), Michael Rice (Rice Group, who bought his parcels just weeks before the announcement), and Shakir Rehmatullah (Flato Developments), a self-described friend of the Premier.

Ford himself claimed he was unaware of Amato's central role — a claim widely disputed. The Integrity Commissioner's investigation found Housing Minister Clark had violated ethics rules by delegating decision-making to Amato without oversight. The RCMP launched a criminal investigation in October 2023 into whether the changes corruptly favoured certain developers — an investigation still ongoing as of early 2026.

Of the land removed: 83% was classified as prime agricultural land — the highest-quality farmland in Ontario — and the changes eliminated environmental protections for approximately 404 hectares of woodlands and wetlands. Ontario already loses 319 acres of farmland per day; this decision would have accelerated that.

The immediate political fallout was severe. Housing Minister Steve Clark resigned in September 2023 after the Integrity Commissioner found he had violated ethics rules. Days later, Kaleed Rasheed, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, also resigned over his own relationship with a Greenbelt developer. Ryan Amato, the staffer who orchestrated the land selection, resigned in August 2023 — but not before receiving a full year's salary as severance courtesy of Ontario taxpayers.

Ford reversed the Greenbelt changes on September 21, 2023, issuing a public apology — a rare moment of contrition from a premier who had spent months defending the policy. The legislature subsequently passed Bill 10, restoring the Greenbelt's original boundaries and requiring future changes to receive legislative approval. But legal challenges immediately followed: developer Minotar Holdings launched a constitutional challenge in December 2023, arguing the reversal was politically motivated and voided their legitimate land investments.

A $2.2-million civil lawsuit filed in early 2025 alleges that Amato and fellow staffer Shiv Raj used "backchannel contacts" to promise fast-tracked rezoning approvals to a developer in exchange for $1.5 million — then failed to deliver. The lawsuit lifts the lid on what critics say was a broader culture of pay-to-play access in Ford's housing file.

The scandal has fundamentally damaged public trust in Ontario's land-use planning system, demonstrated that protected spaces are only as safe as the political will to defend them, and shown that a small circle of connected developers could reshape provincial policy through a few informal meetings. The RCMP investigation — still active with no charges as of 2026 — hangs over the Ford government as it enters its third term.