Ontario privacy commissioner probing deleted Greenbelt emails

Ontario's privacy commissioner says she will publish a special report about the use of non-government emails and deleted messages related to the Greenbelt.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles had asked Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Patricia Kosseim to investigate the premier and government staffers' reported use of personal phones and emails on the controversial file.

In a letter from the commissioner released by the NDP, Kosseim says her office is working on 19 active access-to-information appeals that are similar to the concerns Stiles raised.

In late 2022, the Doug Ford government removed land from the protected Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes.

After months of public outcry, and reports from both the auditor general and the integrity commissioner that found the process favoured certain developers, Ford reversed course.

The RCMP is now investigating the Greenbelt removal process.

The privacy commissioner did not provide a timeline on when her special report would be published.

"My office plans to publish a special report consolidating our findings and providing a comprehensive summary of our conclusions and insights into the access to information and record-keeping issues relating to changes to the Greenbelt," Kosseim wrote in a letter to Stiles.

"Transparency in government actions and decisions is a fundamental principle that underpins the public's trust in government."

In a separate investigation, the auditor general found political staff used both personal and government emails on the Greenbelt file.

The auditor general also discovered political staff emails related to the Greenbelt land swap had been deleted.

Both actions were inappropriate and should not have occurred, the investigation found.

NDPwelcomes probe into government conduct

Stiles said the NDP welcomed the privacy commissioner's special report, adding that such reports are "rare" and "very serious.

"I truly do believe that someone needs to take responsibility and be accountable for this, and in the case of this government I think it lands with the premier," Stiles told reporters at a news conference Monday.

"Ultimately it's the premier who made these decisions."

Stiles said while it is unclear when the report will be published, itwill provide a clearer understanding of the government's conduct.

"We have been deeply concerned by revelations of deleted emails, the use of personal accounts, and other apparent attempts to cover up the government's actions as it schemed to give preferential treatment to well-connected Greenbelt speculators," she said.

In a statement, Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said he hopes the probe "sheds some much-needed light on the government's actions."

"From deleted emails to misremembered dates, this government has gone out of its way to conceal the truth from the public," Schreiner said.

Ontario created the Greenbelt in 2005 to protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development.