92%: When Access Beats Process

92%.

That’s how much of the Greenbelt land removed in 2022 came from sites passed directly to the housing minister’s chief of staff by two developers.

Ontario’s Auditor General documented it.

Estimated land-value increase for the 15 removed sites: $8.3 billion.

Provincial housing-planning experts said the removals were not needed to meet the government’s housing target.

Then Ontario changed its FOI law. Records held by the Premier’s and ministers’ offices are now outside the Act.

This isn’t what accountable process looks like.

It’s what happens when access beats process.

ClearGlass was built for this exact kind of opacity.

What’s your honest reaction?

CLEARGLASS // CLARITY IS POWER

Evidence ledger

Claims you can inspect.

The post is intentionally compressed. This ledger preserves the scope, attribution, and distinction between documented fact and ClearGlass analysis.

01 / SITE SELECTION

The Auditor General reported that 7,400 of the roughly 7,900 acres ultimately removed—about 92%—were five sites passed to the minister’s chief of staff by two developers. Read the 2023 Special Report (PDF) →

02 / VALUE ESTIMATE

The same report said the 15 land sites removed could see their value rise by more than $8.28 billion, according to an estimate supplied to the Auditor General. Inspect the finding →

03 / HOUSING NEED

The Auditor General reported that the Housing Ministry’s planning experts had already assessed that Greenbelt land was not needed to reach the goal of 1.5 million homes. Inspect the finding →

04 / FOI SCOPE

Ontario’s Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 amended FIPPA so it does not apply to records in the custody or control of the Premier’s office or ministers’ offices. Read the enacted statute →

Editorial note: “When access beats process” and the assessment that this is not accountable process are ClearGlass analysis. The quantified statements above are attributed to official public records. The Greenbelt removals were reversed in 2023; this brief examines the documented selection process and the later change to access-to-information law.