TORONTO - Ontario's housing minister has apologized for his role in the Greenbelt land swap that two legislative watchdogs have said benefited certain developers.
Housing Minister Steve Clark will remain in his role with the backing of Premier Doug Ford.
Clark and Ford's comments come a day after the integrity commissioner found Clark violated two sections of the Members' Integrity Act as the government removed land from the protected Greenbelt.
Last year, the province took 7,400 acres of land out of the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes and replaced it with about 9,400 acres elsewhere.
Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake found the Greenbelt land removal process was marked by "unnecessary hastiness and deception."
He found Clark's chief of staff was the driving force behind the land swap that benefited certain land developers and that Clark failed to oversee his staff.