Ontario Housing Minister: No Compensation for Greenbelt Developers

Ontario’s Housing Minister, Paul Calandra, has declared that the province will not compensate developers whose lands are returning to the protected Greenbelt, signaling a commitment to preserving this vital natural resource.

Ontario’s Greenbelt is a designated area of protected land, covering approximately 2 million acres. It stretches from Niagara in the west to Northumberland County in the east, and its primary purpose is to safeguard ecologically sensitive areas, farmland, and natural spaces from urban sprawl.

The housing minister revealed having put the provision into draft legislation that will also “Codify” the boundaries of the Greenbelt. Calandra says the legislation will be tabled soon.

“At this point nothing had changed, the lands had been temporarily moved out of the Greenbelt, but no zoning had been changed, the circumstances for them had not changed, so that’s why I’m not going to be offering any compensation,” added the minister.

Last year Ontario removed land from the Greenbelt as part of its broader measures to build 15 million homes by 2031. This decision was countered with large amounts of opposition and investigations by legislative watchdogs.

Less than a week ago, the province’s Premier Doug Ford apologized for the move and promised to return 15 parcels of land to the protected area. This came after condemning report from the auditor general and the integrity commissioner which revealed the process was flawed and favoured certain developers.