Paul Calandra

Paul Calandra took on the housing file in Ontario having to defend a record that included a Greenbelt land removal scandal and a pattern of Ministerial Zoning Orders that benefited developers with political connections. That's a difficult legacy to manage while also trying to build the housing credibility that the province's 1.5 million homes target requires. The MZO process — which bypasses normal planning review to fast-track specific developments — has legitimate uses but has been used too frequently and too selectively in Ontario to maintain the appearance of impartiality. When the same mechanism that removes NIMBYism for needed housing is also used to advance politically connected projects, it undermines trust in the whole system. Calandra inherited this culture more than created it, but he hasn't done enough to change it.