Latest news with #Greenbelt-related
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Ford government obfuscated Greenbelt records through code words: commissioner
TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing, the province's information and privacy commissioner has found. Political staff were using code words to thwart document requests and left a surprisingly small paper trail for such a consequential policy, commissioner Patricia Kosseim wrote as part of her annual report. A number of freedom-of-information appeals her office received on Greenbelt-related requests revealed concerning, systemic issues, she wrote. 'The Greenbelt-related appeals offer a clear example and cautionary tale about the consequences of inadequate recordkeeping,' the IPC report said. 'When key government decisions are not properly documented, when code words are used, or when records are stored in fragmented ways across personal and official systems, transparency suffers, and with it, public trust.' In addition to issues previously highlighted by the auditor general around political staff deleting Greenbelt emails and using personal accounts, the government sometimes used code words in communications. Staffers sometimes referred to the Greenbelt project in messages as 'special project,' or 'GB,' or 'G*,' with references to G* being next to impossible to find. Those terms and their inconsistent use made it 'unduly difficult' to search for Greenbelt-related records, Kosseim wrote. 'Worse, the use of the code word 'G*' made it virtually impossible to find relevant records, given that the asterisk ('*') is used as a technical wildcard when conducting text searches, returning any word starting with 'G,' she wrote. That meant having to forego using the code word 'G*' as a search term, so some Greenbelt records may have been missed, Kosseim wrote. 'These practices not only violate legal record-keeping obligations, they also erode public trust in the integrity of government decision-making,' she wrote. 'The public has a fundamental right to know how and why decisions are made, especially those that impact protected lands like the Greenbelt. When records are obfuscated and made difficult, if not impossible, to find through evasive code words, transparency is compromised, and oversight becomes illusory.' But there was also a 'surprising' lack of Greenbelt documentation at all, which undermines transparency, Kosseim found. 'The near-total absence of decision-making documentation is particularly concerning, especially on a file as high profile and consequential as changes to the Greenbelt,' the report said. 'Despite evidence of meetings and discussions involving premier's office staff and ministry staff about the Greenbelt, there was very little documentation of what was said or decided in those conversations, aside from a few contemporaneous notes taken by ministry staff.' The RCMP is in the midst of an investigation into the government's decision to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt to remove 50,000 homes — a process the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found favoured certain developers. Premier Doug Ford's office says the government has taken several steps to strengthen record-keeping practices, including reminding staff to preserve and manage records in accordance with requirements and holding training sessions, and will continue to comply with legal obligations. NDP Leader Marit Stiles said 'enough is enough,' because the last time political staff were found to be deleting government records, one went to jail. A top aide to former premier Dalton McGuinty was convicted of illegal use of a computer relating to his destruction of potentially embarrassing documents about the Liberal government's costly decision to cancel two gas plants before the 2011 provincial election. Stiles said there should be consequences for these new failings. 'When will the premier finally answer for the disturbing culture of dodging accountability and disappearing records within this government?' she wrote in a statement. 'Today's report makes it clear that the Ford government broke the law while trying to cover up their Greenbelt carve-up.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ford government obfuscated Greenbelt records through code words: commissioner
TORONTO – Ontario's information and privacy commissioner says Premier Doug Ford's government broke its legal, record-keeping obligations amid its now-reversed decision to open up parts of the protected Greenbelt lands for housing. As part of Commissioner Patricia Kosseim's annual report, she says that a number of freedom-of-information appeals her office received on Greenbelt-related requests revealed concerning, systemic issues. She says in addition to issues previously highlighted by the auditor general around political staff deleting Greenbelt emails and using personal accounts, the government has a 'surprising' lack of documentation on such an important decision and sometimes used code words in communications. Kosseim says in the report that staffers sometimes referred to the Greenbelt project as 'special project,' or 'GB,' or 'G*,' with references to G* being next to impossible to find. The RCMP is in the midst of an investigation into the government's decision to remove 15 parcels of land from the Greenbelt to remove 50,000 homes — a process the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found favoured certain developers. Premier Doug Ford's office says the government has taken several steps to strengthen record-keeping practices and will continue to comply with legal obligations. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario ethics watchdog closes Greenbelt-related inquiry
TORONTO - Ontario's integrity commissioner has closed a Greenbelt-related investigation into former cabinet minister Kaleed Rasheed. NDP Leader Marit Stiles had asked the commissioner in October 2023 to examine a 2020 trip to Las Vegas that included Rasheed, Doug Ford's then-principal secretary Amin Massoudi, and developer Shakir Rehmatullah, who stood to benefit from Ford's now-reversed plan to remove land from the Greenbelt for housing. Rasheed, Massoudi and Jae Truesdell — who was in the private sector at the time but served as Ford's director of housing policy starting in January 2022 — initially told the integrity commissioner they 'briefly' encountered Rehmatullah on a trip to Las Vegas in 2019. They later said the trip occurred in 2020 after reports from The Trillium and CTV called Rasheed's timeline into question, and Rasheed has said it was an honest mistake. A spokesperson for Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell says the office is required to suspend any inquiry when an election is called. A probe can resume if the original requester asks for a restart within 30 days after an election, but the spokesperson says that did not happen. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Toronto Sun
06-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Ontario ethics watchdog closes Greenbelt-related inquiry
Published May 06, 2025 • Last updated 4 minutes ago • 1 minute read Kaleed Rasheed, then minister of public and business service delivery, speaks during a press event discussing the housing affordability action plan in Windsor, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Photo by DAX MELMER / POSTMEDIA Ontario's integrity commissioner has closed a Greenbelt-related investigation into former cabinet minister Kaleed Rasheed. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account NDP Leader Marit Stiles had asked the commissioner in October 2023 to examine a 2020 trip to Las Vegas that included Rasheed, Doug Ford's then-principal secretary Amin Massoudi, and developer Shakir Rehmatullah, who stood to benefit from Ford's now-reversed plan to remove land from the Greenbelt for housing. Rasheed, Massoudi and Jae Truesdell — who was in the private sector at the time but served as Ford's director of housing policy starting in January 2022 — initially told the integrity commissioner they 'briefly' encountered Rehmatullah on a trip to Las Vegas in 2019. They later said the trip occurred in 2020 after reports from The Trillium and CTV called Rasheed's timeline into question, and Rasheed has said it was an honest mistake. A spokesperson for Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell says the office is required to suspend any inquiry when an election is called. A probe can resume if the original requester asks for a restart within 30 days after an election, but the spokesperson says that did not happen.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario ethics watchdog closes Greenbelt-related inquiry
TORONTO – Ontario's integrity commissioner has closed a Greenbelt-related investigation into former cabinet minister Kaleed Rasheed. NDP Leader Marit Stiles had asked the commissioner in October 2023 to examine a 2020 trip to Las Vegas that included Rasheed, Doug Ford's then-principal secretary Amin Massoudi, and developer Shakir Rehmatullah, who stood to benefit from Ford's now-reversed plan to remove land from the Greenbelt for housing. Rasheed, Massoudi and Jae Truesdell — who was in the private sector at the time but served as Ford's director of housing policy starting in January 2022 — initially told the integrity commissioner they 'briefly' encountered Rehmatullah on a trip to Las Vegas in 2019. Former Progressive Conservative MPP Kaleed Rasheed responds to a question at Queen's Park in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin They later said the trip occurred in 2020 after reports from The Trillium and CTV called Rasheed's timeline into question, and Rasheed has said it was an honest mistake. A spokesperson for Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell says the office is required to suspend any inquiry when an election is called. A probe can resume if the original requester asks for a restart within 30 days after an election, but the spokesperson says that did not happen. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
