Ford faces questions about testimony over meeting with Greenbelt landowner

Newly-released government documents are raising fresh questions about Premier Doug Ford’s involvement in the Greenbelt land removals and whether he gave the province’s integrity commissioner inconsistent information about meetings with a land owner.

The land owner in question, Sergio Manchia, was engaged in a years-long effort to have his lands removed from the Greenbelt and hosted fundraisers for the Progressive Conservative Party at which he made his case.

While Ford told the integrity commissioner that he had “no recollection” about meeting Manchia to discuss the Greenbelt land, new documents reveal a meeting about Manchia’s land took place in September 2021 and that, according to the land owner, Ford promised to “pursue the request.”

Critics of the Ford government say the premier is having “a bit of a problem with his story” about the meeting.

“It’s just not believable,” said interim Liberal Leader John Fraser. “Maybe he’s convinced himself that he’s done nothing wrong, but he has.”

Manchia, according to Ontario’s integrity commissioner, had been advocating for the development of a property on Barton Street in Hamilton for 20 years.

His passion for removing the land was well-known within the government.

One political staffer said Manchia had called former housing chief of staff Ryan Amato when he took the job in 2022 because “he would just pick off every single chief of staff that worked literally for the minister at any point to make sure they were aware of his issue.”

“He considers it a mistake that this land remained in the Greenbelt,” the integrity commissioner wrote in his report.

Manchia’s efforts, however, gained new steam in 2021 when he organized a fundraiser for Progressive Conservative MPP Donna Skelly and managed to snag a face-to-face meeting with Premier Ford to advocate for the property’s removal.

“He advised that in September 2021, he hosted a fundraiser for PC MPP Donna Skelly at his home, with approximately 50-70 people in attendance and Premier Ford ‘dropped in’ in person,” the integrity commissioner’s report states.

Weeks after the fundraiser, Mancia’s planning firm Urban Solutions sent a letter to the premier’s then-executive assistant detailing the meeting and the conversation about Manchia’s property.

“September 20, 2021 — Premier Doug Ford, Mayor Fred Eisenberger, MPP Donna Skelly, Mr. Joseph Mancinelli, Mr. Sergio Manchia and yourself met and discussed the justification for the addition of the lands to the Fruitland-Winona Secondary Plan, siting (sic) the error in the mapping of the subject lands when the Greenbelt was initiated,” the document said.

“The parties agreed to pursue the request as it was in keeping with the Province’s objectives of aiding municipalities in providing much-needed housing.”

At a news conference on Tuesday, Ford said he “can’t remember” the specific conversation with Manchia and said he attends “hundreds of fundraisers” and meets “thousands” of people.

NDP MPP Jeff Burtch counters that the meeting and promise to “pursue the request” is evidence that the premier was directly involved.

“The information clearly shows that his office was directly involved and he’s going to have to answer some tough questions about his own involvement,” Burch said.

Manchia’s company Urban Solutions issued a lengthy public statement on Tuesday after being referenced in the integrity commissioner’s report and several news stories.

“There has been much reporting about the province’s decision to expand Hamilton’s urban boundary,” part of the statement said. “UrbanSolutions had no advance knowledge of this decision.”

Later, it added: “We also had no advance knowledge of the province’s decision to carve out parcels of the Greenbelt, including the Barton and Fifty Road lands in Hamilton, and the Highway 8 lands in Grimsby.”

The statement said Manchia and his partner “work openly, fairly and always in accordance with the law with municipal and provincial governments and believe in responsible development that is in the public interest.”

Ford, who has denied any personal involvement in the land selection process, was forced to face integrity commissioner J. David Wake earlier this year to testify about the government’s Greenbelt dealings and whether land owners were given preferential treatment.

During his interview with the integrity commissioner, the premier faced questions about Manchia and whether the two had ever discussed any Greenebelt lands.

Ford claimed in his testimony he had “no recollection” of the meeting with Manchia — raising questions about inconsistencies.

“Asked whether he knew Mr. Manchia and about any communications with him, Premier Ford advised that he ‘meets literally thousands of people’ and it is impossible to keep track of them all,” the integrity commissioner noted.

While Ford said it was “possible” that he met Manchia, he testified that he couldn’t remember any specific conversations about the Greenbelt.

NDP MPP Burch told reports the premier’s testimony and the Urban Solutions memo “don’t jive” and suggested the premier wasn’t being forthcoming.

Ford was asked directly by a journalist whether he “lied” to the integrity commissioner.

“I have the utmost respect for the Integrity Commissioner,” Ford said. “I’m always there to assist him any way I can and continue to assist him.”

A spokesperson for Ford re-asserted on Monday afternoon that the premier had no knowledge or involvement in land removals.

“As noted by both the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner, neither the premier or the premier’s office was part of any specific site selection.” the spokesperson said.

‘This particular proposal in Hamilton for removal had long-standing support from the local municipality, including a letter from the then-mayor of Hamilton as well as a council resolution.”