Greenbelt 2.0? Why Doug Ford's boundary changes in Ottawa and Hamilton could make developers rich
On the same Friday afternoon last November that Premier Doug Ford’s government announced its plan to take certain developers’ land out of the Greenbelt, it also made moves that benefited developers who own rural land on the outskirts of Ottawa and Hamilton.
It did so by expanding each city’s boundaries, instantly turning certain parcels of agricultural land from rural to urban, opening them up to future housing development and sharply increasing their potential value.
Opposition parties believe these moves have strong parallels with what Ford’s government did in selecting 15 parcels of Greenbelt land for housing development, potentially boosting their value by $8.3 billion, until ultimately reversing course last month.
That’s prompting calls for investigations into the Hamilton and Ottawa boundary changes, focused on why certain land parcels were picked despite objections from each city council.
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