They saved green spaces from dodgy developers

Hi everyone, 

I live in London just off a polluted street. It’s strewn with rubbish, old packaging, cigarette butts and fly-tipped items. When I have to walk alongside buses in traffic jams, spewing out grey exhaust fumes, I often hold my breath. 

Luckily, just around the corner from my house is a park. It’s a sanctuary: green space, the air not quite so polluted, and trees towering above.

Having natural land in and around cities is so important – not just for our own well-being, but for biodiversity to thrive. We also need space to farm animals and cultivate crops and ecological zones for forests and wetlands.

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking to The Narwhal, a newsroom in Canada whose investigative journalists tell stories about the natural world. They have a small team – like mine! – but pack a powerful punch, and their journalism has resulted in impressive change.

We mostly talked about their work on Ontario’s greenbelt. Since 2021, when Emma McIntosh joined as a reporter, The Narwhal has been scrutinising what is happening with the two-million-acre protected region that stretches around the Greater Toronto Area. They’ve been holding the government’s feet to the fire and managed to force Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, to scrap his plan to develop some of the greenbelt after exposing the shadowy dealings behind his decision. It’s an important achievement.

Back in November 2022, the Ford government announced it would carve land out of the greenbelt to allow for housing development. The local administration argued this was needed to tackle Ontario’s housing crisis.

That’s despite the fact that Ontario’s greenbelt is vital for ecosystems, ensuring clean water and air for future generations. It preserves farmland that feeds local communities and supports sustainable agriculture. Its natural landscapes absorb rain and snowmelt, helping to prevent flooding. 

Losing that land to development would have shifted it from a carbon sink to a source of emissions. A University of Toronto study from earlier this year found this impact would be similar to adding about 85,000 petrol cars to the roads over five years. 

But it wasn’t just a poorly thought-out decision; it looked like a dodgy one too. The Narwhal and the Toronto Star started digging and revealed that much of the greenbelt land marked for development was owned by a small group of well-connected developers. 

These politically connected developers had bought up devalued farmland just before Ford lifted greenbelt protection on those parcels. It was classic cronyism – friends or associates with political ties receiving advantages such as contracts, jobs or policies that benefit them financially. This suspicious deal, which could have earned the developers billions, sparked a massive public backlash, creating a major crisis for the government.

The Narwhal’s findings triggered probes by Ontario’s auditor general and integrity commissioner, and led to several high-profile resignations. There’s also an ongoing investigation by national police. Finally, on 21 September last year, Ford was forced to reverse the decision to build on the greenbelt.

I got to talk to Denise Balkissoon, who oversaw The Narwhal’s greenbelt investigation. I asked her how a small newsroom managed to cause such a seismic shift.

She said: “Nothing like this has ever happened in my career before. We do this work because we believe the public has a right to know, and because it’s important. But, as you probably know, journalists report on stories all the time where something terrible looks inevitable, and it still happens. 

“Another of our teams, for example, has been covering the construction of a dam for as long as The Narwhal has existed. It was going to flood farmland and Indigenous territory, and despite all the public interest, it went ahead – the dam is operational as of this year.

“So, when policy actually changes, it’s what we always hope for but don’t expect!"

In August this year, Ford was still facing questions, even if he wanted to push past it: “We made that decision not to move forward with it, and we’re going to keep moving forward and building homes everywhere other than the greenbelt.” 

Kudos to the gritty determination of the reporters at The Narwhal.

“My role is to ensure that our clients’ investments align with ethical principles – making sure they aren’t doing harm and are contributing positively to society and the planet.

I first connected with Jo, your reporter, through a media consultant. We shared common values, and it’s been a rewarding relationship, contributing to several important stories. What Jo has uncovered is that companies don’t always tell us the full story. It’s something we all know in the background, but it still hits hard when you witness the scale of what’s uncovered.

Jo’s work has been invaluable for us as investors. TBIJ makes complex issues understandable, cutting through the jargon to reveal how companies are impacting people and the planet. This allows us to hold businesses accountable, something we couldn’t do without this level of reporting.

As investors, our first step is always to engage directly with companies, and I think it’s important for us to take them through the steps of how we can improve this company’s behaviour. 

But that’s not always effective – especially for smaller investors like us. When traditional engagement fails, we turn to public pressure through the media, because nothing is more powerful than public perception. It’s a tool we use sparingly but effectively.

While we’ve excluded oil and gas companies from our investments due to their impact on climate, we remain invested in banks. They play a pivotal role in society, from enabling commerce in places like sub-Saharan Africa to potentially financing harmful projects. We see great potential for banks to improve, and that’s why we stay engaged. There’s a real opportunity for positive change, and we’ve already seen progress in some areas.” 

As always, thanks for reading! I’m lucky to live in a city that protects its parks and doesn’t sell off this greenspace to earn a quick buck. I want the banks to also adhere to this ethos – so thanks to Jo for shining a light on their practices. 

Money shouldn’t grow on trees if it means chopping them down. 

See you next week!