This is the first episode in a weeklong collaboration between The Big Story and The Narwhal, an award-winning non-profit publication that provides in-depth coverage of climate issues across Canada.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford just broke his promise to not open up the protected Greenbelt to development. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bleak news these days for the province’s environmental protections: conservation authorities are being gutted, flood-mitigating wetlands are at risk and citizens are losing their voice at the table. Plus, cities that don’t want sprawl are being ordered to grow beyond their boundaries. So what’s driving Ford’s decision-making? In a word: housing.

GUEST: Emma McIntosh, Ontario reporter at The Narwhal

Read Emma's Greenbelt coverage here

Read Fatima's coverage of Doug Ford's sprawl policies here

Read Emma and Fatima's coverage of Ontario Conservation Authorities here, and their writing on Doug Ford's overhaul of environmental protections here

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