Ford vows to return land to the Greenbelt. That's a 'victory' for Hamilton, says councillor

In a sudden reversal, the Ontario government says it will not remove land from the Greenbelt and instead will add back in hundreds of hectares of land in the Hamilton area. 

Mayor Andrea Horwath said she was "ecstatic" to hear the news Premier Doug Ford changed course, shortly after he made the announcement in Niagara Falls Thursday afternoon. She and Hamilton city council having been calling for him to change direction for the past 10 months. 

"That was definitely the position our city has had from Day 1, not only in terms of our council but also the community has been very, very vocal," Horwath said.

"Our planning staff knew this was not the right course. The impacts to our environmentally sensitive lands, our agricultural lands around Hamilton, it would have been devastating." 

Ford made the announcement at a news conference, flanked by his ministers. 

"I made a promise to you that I wouldn't touch the Greenbelt," Ford said. "I broke that promise. And for that I'm very, very sorry.

"It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt. It was a mistake to establish a process that moved too fast. This process, it left too much room for some people to benefit over others. It caused people to question our motives. As a first step to earn back your trust, I'll be reversing the changes we made and won't make any changes to the Greenbelt in the future."

WATCH | Premier Doug Ford says province will reverse controversial Greenbelt land swap:

‘I broke my promise’: Ford reverses controversial plan to develop Ontario’s Greenbelt

1 year ago

Duration 0:52

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province will reverse a controversial land swap for the protected Greenbelt, saying it was “a mistake” to open it up for development in the first place.

Nearly a year ago, the province removed 800 hectares of Greenbelt land in Hamilton, citing the housing crisis. It also removed two sites in Grimsby off of Cline and Winston roads and Greenbelt land from the Greater Toronto Area, totalling 3,000 hectares. 

The move sparked intense backlash. Hundreds of Hamilton area residents have spoken out against the decision, writing letters to council, and delegating and protesting at public meetings.

City councillors unanimously passed several motions rejecting the removals, insisting Hamilton can meet its housing targets without the Greenbelt land. And Hamilton's chief planner said most of the land wouldn't be ready for development for years. 

Coun. Craig Cassar, whose ward includes a large swath of land, called the reversal a "victory" for the city.

Wayne Gates, NDP MPP for Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake, said the announcement is "a win for the people of Ontario." 

Ford doesn't reverse urban boundary expansion

This summer, the auditor general and integrity commissioner released damning reports that found the process to select the Greenbelt lands was rushed, including in Hamilton.

Developers who owned land near Book Road, White Church Road and Fifty Road had all requested the province lift Greenbelt protections so they could build subdivisions. 

Developers Silvio De Gasperis and Jack Eisenberger then purchased land on Book Road — weeks before the province made its removal public, as reported by CBC Hamilton.

Developer Paul Paletta had a chunk of land near the airport removed and Sergio Manchia had similar success with his land at Barton Street and Fifty Road. 

Manchia and Paletta also own properties in the White Church Road area that the province added to Hamilton's urban boundary at the same time it removed Greenbelt land, raising questions as to how that decision was made.

The province's urban boundary order has not been reversed.

Environment Hamilton executive director Ian Borsuk said it needs to be.

"People in Ontario that are concerned about the housing crisis, are concerned about preserving farmland and natural spaces, we need to take this as an opportunity to keep pushing," he said in an interview.

"We are still dealing with forced urban boundary expansions from the provincial government on prime agricultural land."

Horwath said the city will continue to push to restore the urban boundary approved by council in 2021 with the public's support.

Four people resign over Greenbelt controversy

The Greenbelt announcement comes a day after Ford announced MPP Kaleed Rasheed resigned from his post as minister of public and business service delivery and as a member of the PC party due to links to the Greenbelt swap.

Rasheed's resignation follows that of former municipal affairs and housing minister Steve Clark and his chief of staff Ryan Amato. The integrity commissioner found Clark failed to properly oversee the process that led to protected lands being selected for housing development. 

Ford said Wednesday that Jae Truesdell, who was his director of housing policy, has also resigned. 

When asked if he had any concerns about facing legal action from developers over the land reversal decision, Ford said he couldn't predict the future, but his goal remains to work with builders.

"That's a decision we had to make and I can't determine what the builders are gonna do," he said.

CBC Hamilton reached out to several Hamilton-area developers with Greenbelt property but did not hear back before publication.