RCMP probes Premier’s office for its role in $8 billion Greenbelt grab​

It’s been just over a year since the RCMP opened its investigation into Doug Ford’s Greenbelt grab. The Premier has confirmed his staff are talking with the police. Although Ford says he has not yet been interviewed by the Mounties, at least eight of his current and former top aides have met with the police.

The criminal investigation into Ford began last year after two scathing reports by Ontario’s Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner. The reports found that the Premier's office had given "preferential treatment" to housing developers Ford had personal ties with. The process was not, "transparent, fair, objective, or fully informed" said Bonnie Lysyk, Ontario’s then Auditor General.

Ontario’s Greenbelt is a massive 810,000-hectare stretch of protected land—mostly farmland, forests, and wetlands—running from Niagara Falls to Peterborough. The protections were established in 2005 to shield the fertile land from urban sprawl and speculative investment. But in 2022, despite years of promises to leave the Greenbelt untouched, Ford’s government removed about 7,400 acres from the protected status.

With the Greenbelt cracked open, land prices skyrocketed. Ford’s friends who had bought land since the Premier took office in 2018 now stand to make over $8 billion from land sales, according to the Auditor General’s 2023 report.

The Auditor General found that Ford’s top aides had met, discussed and even helped pick land they wanted removed from the Greenbelt. Lysyk's report concluded that more than 90% of the land chosen, was specifically recommended by developers with ties to Ford’s office.

After the explosive reports, Ford’s chief of staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ryan Amato, resigned after it was found he received “packages” from housing developers with information on the Greenbelt land they wanted. Others, including Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark, and MPP Kaleed Rasheed also resigned because of their roles in the scandal.

Facing growing public outrage, Ford reversed the decision to open up the Greenbelt in September 2023, calling it a “mistake” and admitting he broke his campaign promises. But despite the walk-backs, Ford hasn’t stopped rewarding his friends.

Less than a year after resigning due to his role in the Greenbelt grab, Steve Clark was brought back as Ford’s house leader in June. Last week, Ford’s office announced salary increases for several of his MPPs, making the Premier’s team some of the highest-paid public servants in Ontario’s history.

Now being called the "gravy train," by its critics, Ford’s government has grown to the most expensive Premier’s office in Ontario’s history. As of 2023, 48 of Ford’s staff members are on the Sunshine List—a database of Ontario's public sector employees earning $100,000 or more annually. 

The term "gravy train" was first used by Doug Ford's brother, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, in 2010 during his election campaign, as a rallying cry against what he called "wasteful" government spending.

But in 2024, Premier Doug Ford is now accused of running his own gravy train. While it is reported that the Premier’s office has about 80 employees, the cost of the 48 sunshine salaries alone amount to $6.9 million, up from $2.9 million in 2019. Despite campaign promises, the cost of Ford’s office has flared compared to previous governments.