But yes, that’s what everyone says. When I say this anywhere in my constituency, anywhere I go, even here—we like to say it—but just average folks, I say, “Oh, the Premier is sorry,” and everyone says, “Sorry he got caught.” And I bet he is sorry he got caught. I can imagine that he’s sorry that he got caught.

He’s now saying he’s going to put the greenbelt back: “I’m going to put the greenbelt back. I’m sorry. I was a bad boy.” But do you know what? He just got caught with his hands in the cookie jar, and I think he thinks that just by putting the cookies back, which may actually be half-eaten, that’s the end of it—no harm, no foul, right? Well, do you know what? Not so fast. The people of Ontario aren’t buying it yet.

The rest of the story that I’m about to share—I want to quote Sir Walter Scott, who is known to have written a lot of epic sagas. I would describe this as an epic saga. He said:

Oh, what a tangled web we weave

When first we practise to deceive.

Isn’t that going to be the truth when we unveil some of the things that have happened in this province? There are times when this information has been unfolding that I just think, “Is this real? Is this a political drama on TV? Is this really what’s happening in the province of Ontario?”

So, absolutely, I would say that what is happening here is really just like a whodunit. It’s like a mystery novel, a whodunit, and it’s a mystery with twists and intrigues and hidden connections that are starting to be unravelled. Picture: We’ve got the sprawling landscape of the protected greenbelt lands. We’ve got developers and speculators with vested interests; politicians making decisions behind closed doors; and investigative journalists, like the detectives, unearthing a lot of secrets.

The plot has been thickening as public sentiment has changed, and the truth remains elusive, but we’re getting to the point. Who orchestrated these land swaps? Who whispered in whose ear? Ultimately, who decided to reverse course—and really, the question is why? Why did they decide to reverse course? Why are they reversing course on something that they were so adamant about?

So yes, it absolutely unfolds like a gripping novel, and it really leaves us all wondering: Who is pulling the strings? Who is in charge of this province? Who is calling the shots? It doesn’t seem to be the people of Ontario, and it certainly doesn’t seem to be this government.

Think of some of the elements in a whodunit. Let me just say some of the things that we’ve seen. We have Mr. X. I mean, honestly, Mr. X—is this real? Is this real life? Because we have Mr. X.

Really, even though I’m kind of making light of this, this is not a small mistake—this is not, “Oops, sorry. I apologize.” This greenbelt scandal is a colossal scandal, and it’s still unfolding. We talk about $8.3 billion in speculative profits, but the cost of what this costs Ontarians, municipalities, taxpayers are still to be tallied up. There’s no way this hasn’t cost—all of the staff, all of the resources, all of the lawsuits, all of the legal advice—this has been expensive for the people of Ontario, and it’s probably not going to get any better any time soon, I’m afraid.

Like any good mystery novel or whodunit, there’s always what’s called the double narrative. If you’ve read any mystery novels, there are the things that unfold, and then there’s the underlying story that comes at the reveal. So there’s one narrative that is hidden and gradually revealed, while the other is the open narrative, which often transpires in the present time of the story. So there’s a double narrative, a hidden story.

The double narrative, or the convenient cover story, in this province of Ontario whodunit is the narrative that this was all about housing. I don’t believe it.

Caucus, do you believe this was about housing?