Neil Lumsden time to Return Political Donations from Greenbelt Scandal Developers
MPP Neil Lumsden, received political contributions from Hamilton developers Sergio Manchia and Jeff Paikin who bought land that was ultimately removed from Greenbelt protection.
Join Greenbelt Promise Campaign Sunday, November 12 at 12:30 pm when they call on Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Neil Lumsden to return political donations from Greenbelt scandal developers.
Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, received political contributions from two developers involved in the Greenbelt and forced boundary expansion scandals.
Greenbelt Promise fought for the reversal of the Greenbelt changes and against the forced urban boundary expansions by the Ford government in Hamilton. Sunday’s peaceful rally will focus on land grabs within the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth.
Both the Integrity Commissioner’s Greenbelt Report and the Freedom of Information (FOI) released by Environmental Defence Canada on October 30, 2023 demonstrate that Hamilton developers Sergio Manchia, co-principle of Urban Solutions, and Jeff Paikin, president of New Horizon Development Group, received preferential access to planning processes. That access meant these developers were able to unfairly influence the planning processes.
The removal of Manchia’s Ancaster property and Paikin’s Grimsby lands from the Greenbelt – some of which was purchased as late as May 2019 – would have resulted in millions of dollars in windfall for their companies.
Speakers at the rally will include Kojo Damptey, a Hamilton representative with the Steering Committee of the Greenbelt Promise campaign.
Damptey, an educator, musician and former executive director of Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, will summarize the evidence of preferential access and influence provided by these two developers and facilitated by political staffers working for the elected members of the Doug Ford government.
Damptey will review the evidence of developer interference as provided in the recently released FOI documents while also raising questions about whether lawful but significant financial contributions facilitated access to provincial land use planning decision-makers.
Housing Minister Paul Calandra has publicly stated that the urban boundary decisions are being reversed due to "too much involvement from the Minister's Office.”
However, none of the elected officials who benefited from the generosity of developers have issued public statements distancing themselves from the players involved in the land-use scandals. That includes MPP Lumsden.
At the Sunday gathering, Greenbelt Promise will make the case for Ontario to return to land-use planning based on evidence-based professional advice, not one driven by MPPs who are in developers' pockets.
“Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden and his party received significant funding from two developers involved in the Greenbelt and forced boundary expansion and it raises questions about the role of political contributions in influencing land use decisions in Ontario,” Mike Marcolongo, Keep the Greenbelt Promise Campaign Coordinator told Small Change via email.
He added, “It appears that he’s offside and we’re going to Stoney Creek on Sunday to blow the whistle on MPP Lumsden. We need an MPP that’s going to represent the public’s interests. Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MPP Neil Lumsden is not on your team.”
The Greenbelt was created in 2005 with a goal of permanently protecting the agricultural lands, natural areas, and water resources of the Golden Horseshoe.
Decades ago, forward-thinking community organizations, planning professionals and politicians from all political parties recognized that unrestricted low-density expansion of urban centres onto countryside was a recipe for environmental disaster.
Between November and December 2022, the Ford government carved 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt. Those actions laid bare the Ford government’s determination to ignore and override the existing legislation and regulations ensuring the permanency of Greenbelt lands.
While the Greenbelt is one of Ontario’s most important environmental achievements, amendments made in 2022 demonstrate that current Greenbelt legislation will not ensure the permanent protection of these essential lands. Those amendments included the introduction of Bill 39, Better Municipal Governance Act, and the Duffin’s Rouge Agricultural Preserve Repeal Act.
To really protect the Greenbelt there needs to be legislation stating that any amendments to boundaries can only add lands to the Greenbelt with no possibility for land swaps.
All future governments must be legislated to consult meaningfully with First Nations and Indigenous communities before amending the Greenbelt legislation.
There must be a prohibition on developers paying a fine in order to be able to harm habitat critical to the protection of Species at Risk in the Greenbelt.
A prohibition on the licensing of new aggregate extraction applications in the Greenbelt needs to be implemented.
All prime agricultural lands in the Greenbelt must be protected through conservation easements to ensure speculators are discouraged from purchasing protected agricultural lands in the Greenbelt.
There must be an immediate moratorium on grandfathering of previous zoning for future planning applications that are detrimental to the Greenbelt’s ecological, water and agricultural functions.
In addition to attending the peaceful rally outside MPP Lumsden’s office on Sunday, those concerned about protecting the Greenbelt are encouraged to send a letter to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as well as their local MPP letting them know that Ontarians demand the Greenbelt’s permanent protection – and that they expect the same from their representatives.
Find the link to Support Permanent Protection of the Greenbelt with Bill 136 here.
Then, join Greenbelt Promise and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek community members Sunday, November 12 at 12:30 pm outside Neil Lumsden’s Constituency Office a 102 -115 Highway 8, Stoney Creek.
Be sure to bring your whistles and be ready for some fun!
The Greenbelt Promise campaign is a network of grassroots organizations working together to stop development in the Greenbelt.
The Keep the Greenbelt Promise campaign puts pressure on MPPs to state that they do not support the Greenbelt betrayal and to mobilize and support local organizations working to oppose the Greenbelt areas that are proposed for development in their municipalities.