Housing Minister Steve Clark has resigned after Ontario’s integrity commissioner found he broke ethics rules for his role in the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap scandal.
In a letter published on Monday morning, Clark said he felt his role in the Greenbelt decision and subsequent investigations were “a distraction” from the ministry’s work to solve the housing affordability crisis.
“As someone who has given my life to serving the people through our democratic institutions, it is my responsibility to adhere to the principles of Ministerial accountability,” Clark said in a post on social media.
In his letter, Clark said he has been reflecting since a damning integrity commissioner report into the Greenbelt land swap decision was released. The report blamed Clark for a lack of oversight over his chief of staff, who both the integrity commissioner and Ontario’s auditor general said spearheaded the removal of 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt.
Clark said his “first instinct” after reading the integrity commissioner’s report was to stay in post to create a new process that ensured the issues outlined would never be repeated. He said he had now decided he couldn’t continue.
“This crisis demands someone who is not a distraction from the important work that needs to be done,” Clark wrote. He said that remaining in his role as minister would “only cause further distraction” from the government’s work.
“I need to take accountability for what has transpired,” the letter continued. “In a parliamentary democracy, the Parliament is supreme, and the legislature will determine my ultimate reprimand.”
A report from Ontario’s auditor general last month found the Ford government had presided over a “biased” process to swap land out of the Greenbelt. The auditor general found that the process — led by Clark’s chief of staff Ryan Amato, who has also resigned — benefited a few developers.
The auditor general said the value of land removed from the Greenbelt was set to increase by $8.3 billion.
Then, at the end of August, Ontario’s integrity commissioner released a report of his own. It echoed the auditor general’s findings of a flawed process led by an inexperienced chief of staff.
The integrity commissioner agreed with Clark’s repeated claim he had no hands-on role in the decision over which parcels of land were to be removed from the Greenbelt but said the minister’s ignorance was not an acceptable defence.
As per the sources the decision was made by the former housing minister and not the premier’s office. One source indicated Clark “pulled the chute himself” after facing local pressure from his home riding of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
Opposition parties were quick to jump on the news. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles welcomed the resignation and said it was time for Ford to “face the music.”
Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser said the resignation was a “first step” and called for more action.
