UPDATED – MPP Steve Clark has officially resigned from his position as Ontario’s Housing Minister after facing pressure to do so in response to recent Greenbelt allegations. Last year, the province took 7,400 acres of land out of environmentally sensitive area to build 50,000 homes as part of its “A Place to Grow” plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

On August 30, 2023, a damning report from the integrity commissioner concluded that Clark violated ethics rules when the government removed land from the protected Greenbelt region for development, favouring the private interests of “certain developers” in the process.

“I have recommended to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that Minister Clark be reprimanded for his failure to comply with the Act,” wrote Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake.

Clark, who was the MPP for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, issued a follow-up statement in which he accepted responsibility for the findings in the report but vowed to continue on with his duties as Housing Minister. At the time, Clark said,  “Ontarians need a process to build trust and accountability — and added that the government will work on implementing a better process.”

Still, many continued to call for his immediately resignation, including the Ontario Liberals who also want the Ford government to allow a legislative committee to interview those involved with the Greenbelt decisions.

“The Commissioner’s 166-page report raises more questions than it answers and describes the process used by the Ford Government to remove lands from the Greenbelt as one marked by deception,” said MPP John Fraser, Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. “The Premier needs to open the books and be transparent with Ontarians.”

Prior to Clark’s resignation, the Ontario Premier’s office issued a statement saying Minister Clark would “continue to work towards delivering on our promise to build at least 1.5 million homes and ensure public trust and confidence is maintained every step of the way.”