On 17 April 2023 the Auditor General contacted the developer Michael Rice asking him to attend for interview in connection with:
"an audit looking at the recent changes to the Greenbelt and their economic implications, including their effect on Ontario's housing goals."
On 27 June 2023 the Auditor General issued a summons requiring him to attend her offices and be examined under oath.
On 5 July 2023 Rice made an application to the Superior Court of Justice requesting the Court to quash the summons. You can read the application in its entirety by clicking "read more" below.
Lawyers for Rice say he will swear an affidavit (which we do not yet have) which will be presented along with other documentary evidence at the hearing of the application.
We do not know when that will be.
In the light of this, it will surprise me if the Auditor General is able to pull everything together by September 2023 - as the Auditor General's Office has indicated.
Bonnie Lysyk's ten year term as Auditor General ends on 2 September 2023.
Michael Rice bought the Greenbelt land in King from Bob Schickedanz on 15 September 2022 for $80M. Schickedanz is a former President of the Ontario Home Builders Association whose Chief Executive is Luca Bucci who previously worked as Chief of Staff for Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The land agent who facilitated the sale, John Dunlap, was, at the time, a member of the Southlake Board. He owns land adjacent to the Rice lands.
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See also: Timeline: Southlake and the sale of the Greenbelt lands in King and The new Southlake was planned to be built on Greenbelt land owned by developer Michael Rice and former hospital Board member John Dunlap
