Premier says officials will review deals to sell protected lands after Steve Clark resigns amid Greenbelt land controversy

Ontario’s provincial government is in turmoil following the abrupt resignation of its housing minister amid accusations he breached ethics laws in a controversial land swap deal.

The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, defended his government’s conduct on Tuesday but said top officials would begin a review of deals to sell protected lands on the periphery of the greater Toronto area.

Researchers find homeless people more likely to spend lump sum on housing and food and not ‘temptation goods’ such as alcohol

The widely held stereotype that people experiencing homelessness would be more likely to spend extra cash on drugs, alcohol and “temptation goods” has been upended by a study that found a majority used a $7,500 payment mostly on rent, food, housing, transit and clothes.

The biases punctured by the study highlight the difficulties in developing policies to reduce homelessness, say the Canadian researchers behind it. They said the unconditional cash appeared to reduce homelessness, giving added weight to calls for a guaranteed basic income that would help adults cover essential living expenses.

Police say Kenneth Law, 57, linked to 88 deaths in Britain, may have shipped as many as 1,200 packages to 40 countries

The Canadian man accused of selling sodium nitrite to people at risk of suicide is believed to have shipped as many as 1,200 packages to 40 countries, police said as they laid a dozen new charges in a sprawling investigation.

Kenneth Law, 57, previously charged with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide in the province of Ontario, is now facing 12 new charges in connection with deaths across the province, the York regional police inspector Simon James told reporters. The victims range in age from 16 to 36.