If Premier Doug Ford had hoped to change the narrative about the controversial Greenbelt land swap on Thursday morning, he didn't succeed.
Ford was at an Etobicoke high school to announce an expansion of the province's skilled trades career fairs. Instead, reporters repeatedly pressed him about accountability, especially after the Integrity Commissioner's report found his Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister had violated two sections of the Members' Integrity Act.
"I have confidence in Minister Clark. He has a big file. I take full responsibility. The buck stops with me," said Ford. "We understand the process could be better, but our goal, at the end of the day, is to build 1.5-million homes at minimum."
Calls from the opposition only grew louder after J. David Wake's report on Wednesday. The Ontario NDP has been calling for Clark's resignation since an auditor general's report implicated Clark's Chief of Staff, Ryan Amato. Amato resigned last week, but the demands have only become more insistent.
However, Ford insisted the latest report exonerated his government of allegations it was unduly influenced by two developers who met with Amato last September.
When asked how he plans to restore public confidence, Ford attempted to shift the narrative by pointing fingers at developers.
"On the Greenbelt lands, I have a message to all the developers. Get the shovels in the ground. Get started. Here's another warning to you. I won't hesitate to put you back in the Greenbelt," warned Ford. "I don't give two hoots who you are. If you don't follow the rules, you don't build homes, you don't start getting shovels in the ground, guess what? You're done. You're gone."
The Ontario government started the process to return two parcels of land in Ajax after it learned earlier this week the developer planned to sell the land.
The next question of the Premier was what his standards were for keeping a minister in cabinet.
"Minister Clark has a tough job, and his goal is to continue building homes," responded the Premier. "Admittedly, the process could have been a lot better."
The next question asked if Clark was indispensable. Then, what does it take for someone in the Ford government to be fired?
Over and over again, Ford insisted his government's goal was to build homes.
"I have confidence in Minister Clark and have confidence in my other ministers, and we're going to move forward with building homes," he responded.
