Developer denies Greenbelt proposal was sparked by tip as integrity commissioner explores Ford connection

A prominent developer and philanthropist told CTV News Toronto on Friday that his well-timed proposal to get land out of the province’s protected Greenbelt began years before the flawed process that has scandalized Queens Park.

A prominent developer and philanthropist told CTV News Toronto on Friday that his well-timed proposal to get land out of the province’s protected Greenbelt began years before the flawed process that has scandalized Queens Park.

That was a repeat of what Shakir Rematullah told the province’s Integrity Commissioner — an explanation J. David Wake found “strains credulity” because it didn’t answer questions about why that older proposal suddenly jump-started precisely when ministry staff were looking for properties.

Wake wrote in his report that while he can’t make a finding as to who tipped off Rematullah to ask for his land to be removed — one of more than a dozen lands that the Auditor General found raised property values for a connected few by $8.3 billion — but believes there is a tipster out there.

 “On the evidence, I am unable to make a definitive finding as to what or who prompted Mr. Rehmatullah in the Fall of 2022 to take the steps he did to request that his small piece of land and the land of two of his fellow members of a landowners group be removed from the Greenbelt. But I find it is more likely than not that someone did,” Wake wrote.

Wake noted that Rematullah and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are self-described friends and that he attended the premier’s daughter’s stag and doe, and wedding in the summer of 2022. But Wake said there are other possibilities, and he isn’t ready to draw any conclusions.

 “For some, the fact that he was the only developer who had lands removed from the Greenbelt who attended the premier’s daughter’s wedding is probably enough to point the finger at the premier. But this fanciful connection is not sufficient for me to leap to that conclusion,” he said.

In a statement, the premier’s press secretary said, “The Integrity Commissioner clearly stated in his report that the Premier, and the Premier’s office, had no involvement in the process or of specific site selection.”