Flood plains off limits to new homes, Ford says

CLARINGTON, ONT. Ontario has no plans to allow homes to be built on flood plains, Premier Doug Ford said Friday after the federal environment minister warned Ottawa would not provide disaster compensation where development is greenlit in areas prone to flooding.

Ford said it’s the responsibility of any builder to ensure they protect against development on floodplains.

“I encourage the federal minister to do his research,” Ford said at an unrelated news conference. “Maybe I’ll call him and inform him of what’s going on.”

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault had said some of the lands where housing or commercial development is being proposed in Ontario are in floodplains, and flooding is the top climate change cost in Canada.

“I’m very worried by what I’m seeing in Ontario,” Guilbeault said. “The idea that the federal government will continue to compensate people where their provincial government deliberately allowed them to go and build housing units in an area that is prone to flooding is nonsense.”

Guilbeault’s comments came after the Ontario government announced plans last month to open up the protected Greenbelt to development.

The Progressive Conservative government has proposed removing land from 15 different areas of the Greenbelt so that 50,000 homes can be built, while adding acres elsewhere.

Ontario created the Greenbelt in 2005 to protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development.

Ford had previously promised he wouldn’t touch the protected land.