Opposition demands Greenbelt reversal amid revelations of Ford government appointee’s family ties

Open this photo in gallery:

Opposition politicians in Ontario are renewing their calls for Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives to reverse their decision to open up parts of the Greenbelt for housing, after it was revealed that the former vice-chair of a foundation set up to preserve the environmentally protected area has family ties to a developer who benefited from the change.

The former vice-chair, Susan McGovern, was appointed to the Greenbelt Foundation by the Ford government in 2019. The Globe and Mail reported on Friday that her brother and husband operate The Rice Group, one of the handful of developers whose land the government removed from the Greenbelt in November. Her three-year term on the foundation’s board ended on Nov. 20, 2022.

She is the sister of Michael Rice, the chief executive of The Rice Group, who during Ms. McGovern’s time as vice-chair lobbied the government to allow development on the company’s Greenbelt land. That lobbying was detailed in a report released last week by Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner.

Ms. McGovern’s husband, John McGovern, is the company’s senior vice-president of policy and planning. According to the report, he prepared a document containing a rationale for removing the company’s land from the Greenbelt. The report says the document was for a September, 2022 meeting between Mr. Rice and Ryan Amato, who at the time was chief of staff to Ontario’s housing minister.

Ontario NDP environment critic Sandy Shaw said in a statement Friday that the government must put the parcels of land it removed for housing development back into the Greenbelt.

“It seems there’s always just one degree of separation between this government and a very select group of insider developers who are reaping huge profits off of shady land deals in this province,” Ms. Shaw said.

Greenbelt Foundation chief executive officer Edward McDonnell and the foundation’s chair, Mary Lou Tanner, both told The Globe they were unaware that Ms. McGovern’s brother was lobbying the government for permission to build on the environmentally protected lands while she was vice-chair.

The foundation describes itself on its website as “the only organization solely dedicated to ensuring the Greenbelt remains permanent, protected and prosperous.” It was created in 2005 to advocate for the continued preservation of the 800,000 hectares of farmland, forests and wetlands in the Greenbelt, which stretches across the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the Toronto area.

The foundation does not determine which properties are within the protected zone’s borders.

Ms. McGovern is now an executive adviser to Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Finance Minister. She, her brother and her husband did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Mr. Bethlenfalvy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The Ford government is battling a political firestorm over its decision to open parts of the Greenbelt to development. The government is defending the move as necessary to tackle the province’s housing shortage, but critics have said there is enough land outside the protected area to meet housing targets.

The province’s Auditor-General concluded in a report last month that the process for selecting land for removal from the Greenbelt was rushed, seriously flawed and “favoured certain developers.” The report says the changes resulted in an $8.3-billion windfall for developers, in the form of increased land values.

The Integrity Commissioner’s separate report, released last week, says Mr. Rice purchased a 280-hectare property in King township, north of Toronto, for $80-million on May 3, 2022. The sale closed on Sept. 15, 2022.

Mr. Rice mentioned the parcel of land to Mr. Amato at an event just before the deal closed, saying it would be “a good candidate for removal from the Greenbelt,” the report says. Later that month, Mr. Rice gave Mr. Amato a package of documents prepared by Mr. McGovern that contained a rationale for removing the land, according to the Integrity Commissioner.

The Greenbelt Foundation held a board meeting on Oct. 3, which Ms. McGovern attended. She did not disclose anything about her brother’s connection to Greenbelt land or his lobbying, Mr. McDonnell, the foundation CEO, told The Globe.

But after the government announced on Nov. 4 that it was reversing its promise not to touch the Greenbelt, and would instead be allowing housing in parts of it, Ms. McGovern revealed that her brother was among the developers whose lands had been selected for development.

Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser described Ms. McGovern’s previous role with the foundation as a “brazen conflict,” given her family ties to the Rice Group.

“It’s hard to believe that while brown envelopes were being handed to Ford government staffers, that a family member of those who would benefit financially from this deal was vice-chair of an organization whose mandate is to preserve and protect the Greenbelt,” Mr. Fraser said in a statement on Friday. “The Premier needs to reverse this $8.3 billion backroom deal.”