The federal environment minister is warning that Ottawa will not provide disaster compensation where a province deliberately allows housing to be built in areas prone to flooding.
But Premier Doug Ford says Ontario has no such plans.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault's comments came after the Ontario government announced plans last month to open up the protected Greenbelt to development.
The Progressive Conservative government has proposed removing land from 15 different areas of the Greenbelt so that 50,000 homes can be built, while adding acres elsewhere.
Guilbeault says he's ``very worried'' by what he's seeing in Ontario. He says some of the lands where housing or commercial development is being proposed are in floodplains, and flooding is the top climate change cost in Canada.
Ford says he's encouraging Guilbeault to ``do his research'' and notes that it's the responsibility of any builder to ensure they protect against development on floodplains.