QUEEN’S PARK – MPP Guelph, Mike Schreiner, released the following statement after initiating an Integrity Commissioner complaint:
Yesterday Mike Schreiner filed a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner asking for an opinion on whether the Premier and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing breached sections 2 and/or 3 of the Members Integrity Act, or any other parliamentary convention, when making their decision to open certain Greenbelt lands for development.
Schreiner also requested that the Integrity Commissioner investigate whether any unregistered lobbying activities took place by or on behalf of land owners who will be able to develop Greenbelt land.
“The people of Ontario are rightfully suspicious of the timing of the sale of certain protected Greenbelt lands that will now be open for development, and the ties these land speculators have to the Premier and his government. On their behalf, I have asked the Integrity Commissioner for an opinion on whether the Members Integrity Act or any parliamentary convention has been breached,” Schreiner stated.
“And the fact that today in Question Period the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing did not explicitly deny providing leaked information to Greenbelt land speculators about their plans, reaffirms the need for this investigation.
“I appreciate these are serious allegations, and I didn’t file this complaint proudly or without due consideration, but at the request of Ontarians who deserve transparency and to have the utmost trust and respect for their elected officials. Unfortunately right now people feel that their government has let them down and threatened the land they love for the benefit of private interests.”