The province of Ontario reported that it is establishing a task force to implement the recommendations contained in the Auditor General's report regarding the government's decision to remove land from the protected greenbelt.

A memo from the Chief of Staff to Premier Doug Ford and the Secretary of the Cabinet to the Chiefs of Staff of Ministers and Deputy Ministers states that all Cabinet requests to address the recommendations must be complete and include options and risks during the approval process.

The memo comes as the province works to implement 14 of the 15 recommendations from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk, although Ford has stated that the government will not reconsider its decision to open part of the greenbelt for housing development.

Lysyk found that developers who were able to access the Chief of Staff to Minister of Housing Steve Clark, Ryan Amato, at a housing conference dinner last September ended up with 92 percent of the land that was removed from the greenbelt, and the Integrity Commissioner is reviewing Ford's request to investigate Amato.

Lysyk also found that the process of opening the greenbelt was biased in favor of certain prominent developers who ignored potential environmental, agricultural, and financial risks and impacts.

Last year, the province took over 7,400 acres of land from the greenbelt and replaced it with about 9,400 acres elsewhere.

Lysyk noted that when specific properties associated with prominent developers did not meet the environmental standards for building on that land, the standards were dropped instead of looking for other parcels of land. The memo stated, "The overall response to the report is a top priority, and a task force is being created to support implementation."

Until the task force starts its work, Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Ministers must conduct appropriate consultations, including with Indigenous leaders. The memo also stated that timelines for submitting ministerial and cabinet committees allow sufficient time for due diligence by officials and consideration by committee members.

Lysyk confirmed that the removal of the greenbelt was done very quickly over a three-week span and that Amato largely controls the entire process.

Both Ford and Clark denied informing developers before the land was removed from the greenbelt and stated that they did not receive any benefit from this decision.

Both said they had little knowledge of the details of the land exchange deal before it was brought to Cabinet last year.

Ford acknowledged that the process for selecting land within the greenbelt was flawed and committed to doing a better job moving forward.

Opposition party leaders and experts questioned whether the Chief of Staff could make a decision on an important government file without the knowledge of the Minister of Housing, as Amato was appointed to his position as Clark's Chief of Staff by the Premier's Office.

Among Lysyk's other recommendations was a call to "retain records," as some emails were missing when she searched for them. She found that personal emails were also used during the process.

Lysyk also warned the government against using nondisclosure agreements, which public service non-political members had to sign while working on the lands to be removed from the greenbelt. This is another area the province stated it is addressing.

The memo stated, "We also request during this time that all instances where confidentiality is proposed to the Cabinet Office and/or Treasury Board Secretariat be flagged, which will draw our attention to these agreements."

"Please ensure compliance with record retention requirements, including documenting materials received from external parties and using government emails only for work-related matters."