It was the story that engulfed Ontario.

The mess started when Premier Doug Ford decided in 2022 to cut into Ontario’s protected Greenbelt — home to protected forests, farmland, wetlands and endangered species habitat — to allow housing development. And after The Narwhal dug into it in partnership with our friends at the Toronto Star, the story soon spiraled into a massive political scandal.

Before long, the story of the Greenbelt wasn’t just about tackling the housing crisis and the climate crisis. It also became a tale of allegations of corruption, Las Vegas massages — and an RCMP investigation.

Now, The Narwhal has teamed with our pals at The Big Story podcast (again) to go behind the scenes of the whole affair with Paydirt, a miniseries hosted by Ontario reporter Emma McIntosh. The Big Story breaks down complex stories every day, but this one needed a bit more than a single episode. So we made three — tune in on your podcast app of choice or listen to then all below.

Episode 1: It’s not easy being green

In 2022, the Doug Ford government opened parts of Ontario’s protected Greenbelt for housing development, touching off a massive political scandal. But long before that, tensions over the green space outside of Toronto had been quietly simmering for nearly two decades.

What is the Greenbelt? How did it end up becoming such a flashpoint for fights over the housing crisis and the climate crisis? And who stood to benefit when the Ford government tore it up after 20 years?

Episode 2: Bees, stags, does and Vegas

In the months after the Ford government cut into Ontario’s protected Greenbelt to allow housing development, the premier’s ties with developers were suddenly under a microscope.

Rumours were flying. Journalists and independent watchdogs were digging. And the day Doug Ford swallowed a bee turned out to be very consequential for another reason.

Episode 3: Margaritaville

Two watchdog reports into Ontario’s Greenbelt scandal in summer 2023 triggered sudden resignations and sent the Ford government spiraling into disarray. Public anger started to boil over. Questions swirled about massages in Las Vegas.

Right when the crisis reached a fever pitch, Premier Doug Ford faces the people to make an enormous mea culpa. But is that enough to satisfy the RCMP — or to settle questions about whether the government is really working for the people?

Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?
Like a kid in a candy store
When those boxes of heavily redacted documents start to pile in, reporters at The Narwhal waste no time in looking for kernels of news that matter the most. Just ask our Prairies reporter Drew Anderson, who gleefully scanned through freedom of information files like a kid in a candy store, leading to pretty damning revelations in Alberta. Long story short: the government wasn’t being forthright when it claimed its pause on new renewable energy projects wasn’t political. Just like that, our small team was again leading the charge on a pretty big story

In an oil-rich province like Alberta, that kind of reporting is crucial. But look at our investigative work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline to the west, or our Greenbelt reporting out in Ontario. They all highlight one thing: those with power over our shared natural world don’t want you to know how — or why — they call the shots. And we try to disrupt that.

Our journalism is powered by people just like you. We never take corporate ad dollars, or put this public-interest information behind a paywall. Will you join the pod of Narwhals that make a difference by helping us uncover some of the most important stories of our time?

Key figure in Ontario Greenbelt scandal worked on Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass. But records are scarce

Get the inside scoop on The Narwhal’s environment and climate reporting by signing up for our free newsletter. In August 2020 a then-Ontario government staffer emailed...

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