Ontario Premier Doug Ford has shuffled his cabinet for the second time in recent weeks after Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced on Friday that he would step away from politics to move to the private sector.

In a statement shortly after McNaughton's announcement, Ford said David Piccininni will move from his position as Minister of the Environment to become Minister of Labour.

Additionally, MPP Andrea Khanjin will become the new Minister of the Environment, taking on additional responsibilities as Deputy Speaker of the Government House. Meanwhile, MPP Todd McCarthy will assume the position of Minister of Public and Business Services formerly held by Khalid Rashid, and Vijay Thanigasalam will become Deputy Minister of Transportation.

McNaughton is the third minister to resign from Premier Doug Ford's government this month, although he stated that his departure is not related to the Greenbelt development scandal.

In his statement, Ford thanked McNaughton for his service and praised his accomplishments in the labour file.

Ford also added: "I am incredibly grateful for Monte's work as a key member of our team, as Minister of Infrastructure, and most recently as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development."

This high-level resignation comes just one day after Ford announced that his government would backtrack on its controversial plans to develop housing in the province's Greenbelt.

In August, Ontario's Auditor General found that the decision-making process regarding the Greenbelt "favored certain developers" whose 15 land sites in the protected green space could see value increases of over $8.3 billion.

A separate report issued later that month by Ontario's Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake revealed that Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark breached the Members' Integrity Act and recommended he be reprimanded for his role in the Greenbelt development plans.

Clark resigned from his ministerial position on September 4, stating that he needed to "take responsibility for what happened."

On Wednesday, Rashid announced his resignation after his office said he provided Wake with incorrect information about a 2020 trip to Las Vegas.

Ford also stated that while Clark remains a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus, Rashid will sit as an independent but will have the opportunity to return if cleared by the Integrity Commissioner.

In response to the recent resignation, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford's government is in "complete and utter chaos."

The Ontario legislature is scheduled to return for the fall session on Monday.