EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a new Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
The interim leader of Ontario's Liberal Party said he thinks the provincial police's work to decide whether to investigate the Ford government's Greenbelt land swap has stalled because individuals are wary of going to the police since "they know that they'll be punished."
"That's what happens with Doug Ford," John Fraser, a longtime MPP and the Liberals' temporary leader, added, reacting to questions about the Ontario Provincial Police's (OPP) review into a possible investigation that stemmed from a detective's email The Trillium obtained and published on Wednesday.
Fraser, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Green Leader Mike Schreiner each weighed in on the probe on Thursday, with the Liberals' interim leader taking direct shots at the premier.
Det.-Sgt. Todd Dart of the OPP's anti-rackets branch said in an email on Monday that the provincial police "have no evidence yet to prove anyone in the Provincial Government acted in a dishonest, partial, corrupt or oppressive manner." The OPP's anti-rackets branch has been reviewing whether to launch an investigation since late 2022.
Dart wrote to Patrick Macklem, the email's recipient, that "no one has come forward with proof" that anyone in the Ford government committed any wrongdoing, and that the OPP "cannot use" what it's gathered to date "to put in a search warrant on Government offices."
“We need someone to say that they have information a Government official tipped off the developers, or took a bribe in doing so, etc.," Dart added.
Macklem, a retired legal scholar and 2022 Green Party of Ontario candidate in Parkdale—High Park, filed a complaint late last year to the OPP, asking the police to investigate whether the premier, or someone in his government, committed breach of trust by tipping off developers before announcing its Greenbelt land swap last November. Macklem said he shared Dart's email with The Trillium to try and aid the OPP's work, and to encourage people to "come forward and speak up."
Ford and Housing Minister Steve Clark have repeatedly denied that anyone was given a heads up about the government's Greenbelt changes before they were announced.
After Ford's Progressive Conservatives were elected in 2018, multiple developers benefiting from the Greenbelt land swap bought then-protected land. Before being elected, Ford told a private gathering that the PCs would "open a big chunk" of the Greenbelt to build homes. Within days of a video of Ford's comments being published, he reversed his position, promising not to touch the Greenbelt if elected premier.
In late January, Ford's office told Ontario's integrity commissioner months after the fact that six developers were invited to and attended his daughter's wedding festivities, including an Aug. 11 stag and doe and her Sept. 25 wedding. Ford said in early February that attendees of the Aug. 11 event paid a $150 entry fee. The integrity commissioner gave Ford an opinion in late January saying that based on information Ford's staff provided, including that the premier had no knowledge of gifts given to his daughter and son-in-law by the developers and that government business was not discussed at either event, that he hadn't broken MPP ethics laws.
The NDP's Stiles has asked the integrity commissioner to conduct a full investigation of his own, which the commissioner is still considering.
Fraser said on Thursday that the OPP have a "really complex, difficult thing to look at, because no one's going to want to provide information."
"This government — the premier himself — is known for his retribution," Fraser told journalists following question period. "So, people don't want to talk. It must be hard."
Asked if the Ontario NDP wanted the OPP to investigate the government over the Greenbelt land swap, Stiles said on Thursday that "I would hope that if there's any indication of wrongdoing, (that) it will be investigated."
While speaking about the OPP's review, Stiles described it — with some jest — as "an investigation to investigate whether they should have an investigation."
"At the end of the day ... these questions are going to continue to circle this government as long as they continue to make deals that appear to be influenced by relationships the premier has with certain insiders," the NDP leader said.
Schreiner has previously said in a Green Party press release that he's "pleased that the OPP is responding to serious concerns about these shady land deals."
On Thursday, he said the government's Greenbelt land swap "doesn't pass the smell test."
"We've had numerous studies, including from the government's own Housing Affordability Task Force report, (that) have clearly stated that we do not need to develop the Greenbelt in order to build the homes that Ontarians need," Schreiner added on Thursday.
Ford's office didn't respond to a request for comment before this story was published.
Like Macklem, Environmental Defence also asked the OPP to investigate the Ford government over the Greenbelt land swap.
Tim Gray, the environmental organization's executive director, told The Trillium on Thursday that he's spoken to Dart, and has been emailing back and forth with the detective.
"I do think that there is enough information here about special benefits to particular people that warrants an (OPP) investigation," Gray said.
Some of what Gray said he's been sending to Dart over email has been news articles to inform the provincial police's review.
In his email written to Macklem on Monday, Dart said "media articles do not assist with the investigation as we don't know, nor can we confirm the media's sources of information."
"We have not had one media outlet contact us or provide us with a source of their information, therefore, it is difficult to form reasonable grounds to believe an offence occurred," Dart wrote.
The OPP said in an email on Tuesday that it had “heard from more than a dozen individuals in relation to the ongoing review."
