Marit Stiles marks 1,000th day of RCMP Greenbelt investigation with cake for Doug Ford
Ontario's NDP leader criticized the premier over the ongoing corruption probe into the government's Greenbelt land swap and recent changes to freedom of information rules.
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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles marked Wednesday the 1,000th day of the RCMP's ongoing investigation into the Ford government's Greenbelt land swap with a cake decorated with the message "Doug, Happy 1000th day under criminal investigation."
In a social media post, Stiles captioned the cake: "When it comes to corruption, Doug Ford takes the cake." She said the prolonged investigation has become a defining part of Ford's tenure in office, overshadowing governance.
The RCMP launched its investigation in October 2023 into allegations surrounding the Ford government's decision to remove portions of Ontario's Greenbelt from protected status as part of its plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031. The government later reversed course, restoring protections to roughly 7,400 acres of Greenbelt land that had been slated for development.
Stiles also criticized recent changes to Ontario's Freedom of Information rules, which she said reduce transparency by allowing the premier and cabinet ministers to withhold certain office records, including phone records. "Doug Ford's fear of transparency is so deep that he changed Freedom of Information laws, the same ones that helped unearth the Greenbelt scandal, to cover up his phone records, and whatever else he's hiding," she said in a statement.
Stiles said she remains confident in the RCMP's investigation and questioned why the premier continues to resist transparency. "Ontarians need to know if they can trust him. If there's nothing to hide, why does Doug Ford keep jumping through hoops to hide things?" she said.
