NIAGARA FALLS – Premier Doug Ford has announced he is reversing his plan to open the protected Greenbelt lands for housing development.
During a press conference in Niagara Falls Thursday, Ford said “I made a promise to you that I wouldn’t touch the Greenbelt. I broke that promise. And for that, I’m very, very sorry. I pride myself on keeping our promises. It was a mistake to open the Greenbelt. It was a mistake to establish a process that moves too fast.”
Ford says the process involved in selecting what parcels of land would be removed from the Greenbelt left “too much room for some people to benefit over others.”
He says it caused people to question his government’s motives.
“As a first step, to earn back your trust, I’ll be reversing the changes we made and won’t make any changes to the Greenbelt in the future. Because even if you do something for the right reasons, with the best of intentions, it can still be wrong,” Ford said.
Reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner found that the process to select lands out of the Greenbelt was rushed and favoured certain developers.
WATCH: Full announcement from Premier Doug Ford.
