A protest rally is happening outside Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes (LGTIRL) MPP Steve Clark’s office later this week in the wake of the Greenbelt scandal.
The rally is being organized by Steve Gabell, the President of the Ontario Green Party’s LGTIRL Constituency Association, after a report from the province’s Auditor General that he calls a “bombshell.”
The report said Clark’s Chief of Staff gave some developers preferential treatment when selecting what land should be removed from the protected area last year.
“Ford and Clark must accept all of the Auditor General’s recommendations, reverse course on plans to build on the Greenbelt, and should resign for overseeing such a biased selection process,” Gabell says.
He also adds that the government should be protecting the Greenbelt because of how important it is for our environment.
“It stores carbon, prevents flooding, and is home to 78 protected species,” Gabell says. “We have plenty of space to build the affordable homes Ontarians so badly need without building on protected land. But this scandal is about more than just environmental issues, it is about honesty and integrity in our politics.”
In a statement to Moose FM, Clark says he “fully supports in-principle” and plans to enact most of the recommendations from the Auditor General, except for the recommendation not to go forward with building on the land.
“We can’t stop building homes when we are in a housing crisis,” he says. “As we work to fulfill our promise to build at least 1.5 million homes, we will do so in a way that builds public trust and confidence in the process.”
The rally is scheduled for 11:00 AM on Thursday.