More damning details continue to emerge in the Doug Ford Greenbelt scandal, which the Premier surely hoped wouldn't be the source of as much headline fodder in the New Year as it was in 2023.

Ford's camp has insisted that talk of priming portions of the protected Ontario lands for housing only began in 2022, and also that certain staff were not hands-on with some of the finer details. However, internal emails uncovered through freedom of information requests in recent weeks indicate otherwise.

Communications between Ford's current Chief of Staff Patrick Sackville (his principal secretary at the time) and an aide to fallen Housing Minister Steve Clark show that, as NDP Leader Marit Stiles says, the two were "far more involved" than Ford's team have said on record.

The exchange from Oct. 17, 2022 — obtained by the Official Opposition and published in the Star on Monday — specifies criteria for the removal of acreage from the belt, including things like availability of infrastructure and amenities for new residential communities.

This is despite the fact that Sackville said under oath to the province's Integrity Commissioner he was only briefed on particulars of the land swap for the first time on Oct. 27.

We've uncovered additional evidence that suggests Mr. Ford's office knew about the Greenbelt land swap details earlier than they claimed under oath.

They want this corruption scandal to go away, but they can't hide from what they've done.#ONpolihttps://t.co/lHKgQYA4iA

— Marit Stiles (@MaritStiles) January 22, 2024

Other emails between Sackville and then-Chief of Staff Jamie Wallace, shared by The Trillium earlier this month, show that discussions of removing sites from the environmentally-sensitive green space were also taking place as early as fall 2021. Some were also suspiciously conducted from personal rather than professional email accounts.

Messages from that November reference a request from a developer to release swaths of the land for housing projects; the same developer that Ford is said to have visited at his home for an event some weeks earlier, which the premier contended said he had "no recollection" of doing.t

A missive titled "Greenbelt Alteration — Fifty Roads Lands, Hamilton" from development consultation company Urban Solutions, which was at the time managed by the same developer, was also forwarded in the discussion by yet another Ford staffer.

Wallace said in the exchange that he would consult higher-ups about the potential land designation change.

Here's everything you need to know about the Greenbelt scandal 👀 https://t.co/ycIT8yYQE9 #Ontario #DougFord #Government #Greenbelt #Scandal

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 25, 2023

"With each new piece of evidence, we are seeing more cracks in the narrative Mr. Ford and his insiders have been trying desperately to get people to believe — that Ford was in the dark about this scheme to carve up prime farmland and green space for land speculators," Stiles has said in the wake of the leaked messages.

She has also requested the Integrity Commissioner further investigate of Ford, who is also famously being investigated by the RCMP for the whole debacle, which he completely reneged on in September, calling it "a mistake."

Sounds just like a politician. Backs up pretty quickly when he sees hopes of re-election go bye-bye. See ya Dougieeeee.

— Kimberly (@kfrankiemac) September 21, 2023

Of course, between the Greenbelt mess, the controversial Ontario Place redevelopment (including the relocation of the Ontario Science Centre), and more, many constituents are still calling for Ford's resignation.