QUEEN’S PARK — John Fraser, MPP for Ottawa South and Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, has released the following statement in response to the Freedom of Information (FOI) documents released by Environmental Defence:
“The FOI documents released today by Environmental Defence show that the Ford government has given developers the inside track to decision-making. There are deals taking place behind closed doors designed to benefit a handful of wealthy well-connected insiders – and by the Premier’s own admission – his friends and fundraisers.
“The Premier’s Principal Secretary, the Premier’s Director of Housing, the Premier’s Executive Assistant, and the Premier’s hand-picked Chief of Staff in the Ministry of Housing, are all implicated in these backroom deals.
“It is simply not believable that the Premier and his office knew nothing, especially not after the government redacted many of the documents in this FOI request on the basis that they are Cabinet-privileged.
“It is abundantly clear that all roads lead to the Premier’s Office in this ongoing scandal.
“The Premier needs to waive cabinet privilege, and the RCMP’s criminal investigation into the $8.3 billion Greenbelt scandal must expand to cover the Ford government’s changes on urban boundaries.”
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