As the RCMP investigation into Premier Doug Ford’s Greenbelt land swap marks its third anniversary, a former Ontario solicitor general says the Mounties should let the public know how the probe is proceeding.
asserted
probe → mark → anniversary
Bob Runciman, a former Conservative senator who served as the province’s top lawman for two stints between 1998 and 2003, said the federal police force needs to come clean with Ontarians.
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force → serve → Ontarians
“It’s unconscionable on their part not to make a public statement, give some sort of an update with respect to where the investigation stands,” Runciman said in an interview.
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Runciman → ’ → interview
It has been more than 1,100 days since the Mounties launched their probe into Ford’s $8.28-billion land swap imbroglio on Oct. 10, 2023.
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Mounties → launch → Oct.
Two cabinet ministers and two political aides — all of whom deny any wrongdoing — lost their jobs in the wake of the decision to allow developers to build housing on 7,400 acres of environmentally sensitive Greenbelt land in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
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developers → deny → Area
While Ford cancelled the scheme amid a firestorm of controversy, former housing minister Steve Clark, former public and business service delivery minister Kaleed Rasheed, and ex-aides Ryan Amato and Jae Truesdell have been stuck in limbo ever since.
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Clark → cancel → limbo
Clark is now government house leader, but has not been able to return to cabinet.
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Clark → return → cabinet
Rasheed retired from politics last year.
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Rasheed → retire → politics
Amato and Truesdell now work in the private sector.
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Amato → work → sector
Runciman, a former chair of the Senate’s legal and constitutional affairs committee, knows from personal experience what it’s like to be a politician under RCMP investigation.
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it → know → investigation
In 1998, he was forced to briefly step down from premier Mike Harris’s cabinet after the throne speech identified a young offender, which is a federal crime.
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which → force → offender
He was cleared by the Mounties after three months and returned to his ministerial post.
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He → clear → post
“I went through something in a somewhat similar way, but in a much more minor issue.
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I → go → issue
That took three months for something that should have taken a day,” he said.
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he → take → day
“My view at the time was that the RCMP wanted to give the impression, since you’re dealing with a political issue, that they were giving it the appropriate amount of scrutiny.
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they → want → scrutiny
But this has gone beyond the pale now.
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this → go → pale
It’s three years.”
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It → ’ → ?
Runciman — long a friend and political mentor to Clark, who represents his old riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes — said the delay is unfair to “the individuals who have this cloud hanging over them, their reputation stained to some degree because of the lingering issue.”
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reputation → represent → issue
To that end, he has asked Conservative lawmakers in the House of Commons and the Senate to press the Mounties to share the status of the investigation and to “identify individuals caught up in this matter who have been determined to not be subjects of interest.”
But the police are refusing to budge when it comes to releasing any information on their progress.
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it → ask → progress
“We have no updates for you at this time.
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We → have → time
Be assured that the RCMP is conducting a thorough investigation.
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RCMP → assure → investigation
That investigation is ongoing,” the force told the Star in a written statement.
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force → tell → statement
“To protect the integrity of the investigation, we cannot provide information at this time,” it continued.
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it → protect → time
“The RCMP must ensure that criminal investigations are not compromised by sharing information publicly.”
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investigations → ensure → information
But Runciman countered that “the public interest” is not being served by three years of radio silence from the Mounties.
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interest → counter → Mounties
“I think they have an obligation to indicate who is and who is not continuing to be the subject of this investigation,” he said.
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he → think → investigation
Sources, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, told the Star detectives from the RCMP “O” Division’s Sensitive and International Investigations unit, the branch that investigates corruption and political crimes, have interviewed several dozen current and former Ford aides.
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that → speak → aides
But it remains unclear whether police have met with any of the landowners or developers.
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police → remain → landowners
“As we’ve always said, we will assist the RCMP in any way.
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we → say → way
Further questions regarding the investigation should be directed to the RCMP,” Ford’s office said in a statement Tuesday.
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office → regard → statement
In August 2023, the auditor general and the integrity commissioner each released reports that revealed developers with ties to the Tories were “favoured” in the unusual process that led to the 15 parcels of land rezoned for housing.
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that → release → housing
Nine months earlier, a joint Star and Narwhal investigation revealed a majority of those properties had been bought up when the land was still under Greenbelt protection.
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land → reveal → protection
Fourteen of the 15 parcels of land were selected by Amato, at the time Clark’s chief of staff, with input from some developers.
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Fourteen → select → developers
The former aide, who was the first to resign after the watchdog reports were released, has always maintained he was just following orders.
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he → resign → orders
Clark stepped down as housing minister weeks before Ford abandoned the Greenbelt development.
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Ford → step → development
Rasheed quit as business minister and was forced from the Tory caucus after misleading the integrity commissioner about a 2020 Las Vegas trip with Shakir Rehmatullah, a Ford pal who had stakes in two small parcels totalling about 23 acres that were initially removed from the Greenbelt.
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that → quit → Greenbelt
Rasheed, who now works in the private sector, has always insisted he made “an honest mistake” when he told the ethics watchdog the trip had taken place eight weeks earlier than it had.
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it → work → place
The former Mississauga East—Cooksville MPP was not involved in any Greenbelt decisions, although he and Rehmatullah were long-time friends.
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he → involve → decisions
The integrity commissioner told him last year that his case was closed.
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case → tell → him
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