Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to face tough questions Tuesday following the resignation of his housing minister over the long weekend and a cabinet reshuffle revealed hours later.
Ford will speak to the media at 10 am ET in Queen’s Park. You can watch the press conference live on this story. Opposition parties will also respond to the news before and after Ford’s scheduled appearance.
Steve Clark, Ford’s former housing minister, announced he was stepping down Monday despite insisting for weeks that he would stay on to guide the province’s efforts to build more housing.
Clark’s resignation came days after a scathing report by Ontario’s integrity commissioner concluded that he violated ethics rules when the Ministry of Housing chose land to be removed from the protected greenbelt for development.
An equally damning report from Ontario’s auditor general, released on August 9, found that the process was heavily influenced by a small group of politically connected developers. Clark’s former chief of staff, Ryan Amato, spearheaded that effort and had direct contact with some of those developers or their attorneys, the auditor general said. Amato resigned on August 22.
The RCMP is currently considering whether there are grounds for a potential police investigation into the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap.
Clark has said that he intends to remain as MPP for driving in Eastern Ontario’s Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.
A cabinet change by Ford on Monday afternoon announced that Paul Calandra will step down from his role as long-term care minister to take over Clark’s portfolio, in addition to a host of other changes.
Ford issued a statement saying the “revamped equipment” is adequate to build the homes, roads and public transportation needed.