Hamilton mayor calls on Ford to abandon Greenbelt development plans

Hamilton's mayor is calling on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to abandon his plan to open up parts of the Greenbelt for development after the province's auditor general found a small group of well-connected developers influenced the plan.

The Ford government removed approximately 2,995 hectares of land from the Greenbelt in December, while adding land elsewhere, to build 50,000 homes. 

The Greenbelt is a vast 810,000-hectare area of farmland, forest and wetland stretching from Niagara Falls to Peterborough that was meant to be off limits to development.

You can read the full auditor general's report at the bottom of this story.

The move to do away with environmental protections for some parcels of the land were met with criticism from the public, advocacy groups and Hamilton councillors.

The auditor general's scathing report, released Wednesday, noted how the removal of Greenbelt lands in Hamilton weren't needed to meet current housing targets and would be "challenging" to service in the future.

The parcels of land in Hamilton include:

• Roughly 732 hectares of land on Book Road. It's south of Garner Road West, west of Fiddlers Green Road and east of Shaver Road.
• Roughly 66 hectares of land on Mount Hope. It's south of White Church Road East, west of Miles Road, north of Chippewa Road East and east of Upper James Street.
• Roughly four hectares of land at 331 and 339 Fifty Rd.

There are also two parcels near the Hamilton-Niagara border including:

• Roughly 30 hectares of land on Cline Road, south of the GO rail line, west of Oakes Road North, north of Main Street West and east of Kelson Avenue North.
• Roughly six hectares of land at 502 Winston Rd.

"The proposed development of the Greenbelt is an unnecessary, ineffective, and misguided measure that will not contribute to meeting Hamilton's housing needs," Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a media release later on Wednesday.

"There is no doubt that the Greenbelt should be protected as a vital element of our environmental and agricultural resources."

Horwath also said she'll work with city councillors and staff to review the auditor general's report and its implications for the city's "continued advocacy against this provincial approach."

A bird's eye view of some of Hamilton's Greenbelt lands

1 year ago

Duration 1:31

A group of well-connected developers stand to make a lot of money after influencing Doug Ford's provincial government's process for choosing protected Greenbelt land to open up for housing, the province's auditor general says. Here's a drone's eye view of some of Hamilton's Greenbelt land.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Ford acknowledged shortcomings with the land selection process, but said the government would continue to do everything it can to address the province's housing crisis.

Ford said his government would accept and implement 14 of the 15 total recommendations Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk made in her report.

The recommendation it will not accept is to revisit the land swaps and possibly reverse the decisions, he said.

Environmentalist is 'shocked but not surprised'

The auditor general's findings backs a report by planner Kevin Eby who said Hamilton has enough space within its urban boundary to build 87,600 homes — close to double its provincial target.

Eby was one of seven members who resigned from Ontario's Greenbelt Council in 2020 over concerns about the province's environmental policies.

He prepared the report for The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario, a coalition of advocacy groups opposed to the province's controversial housing Bill 23, including Environmental Defence.

Ian Borsuk, interim executive director of Environment Hamilton, said the auditor general's findings are shocking but not surprising.

"All of our worst fears are confirmed ... we've been trying to raise the alarm on this even way back before the election. We were very skeptical of Doug Ford saying he wasn't going to touch the Greenbelt," he said in a phone interview Wednesday.

"We have enough pre-approved land ... that's outright being ignored."

Borsuk said the province adopting 14 of 15 recommendations from the auditor general isn't being done in good faith given it won't consider changing its plan.

"Quite frankly, I think it's bullshit," Borsuk said.