Fireworks at committee

Also: Liberal debate stage is set, Ford hits the fundraising (and wedding) circuit, new chief of staff, book ban, covert climate, poll watch, a big birthday and more

ABOVE THE FOLD

ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — It may be crickets at Queen’s Park, but committees are creaking back to life after the summer recess, offering a sneak peek at the legislative session to come.

New Housing Minister and Ford government troubleshooter PAUL CALANDRA played defence after NDP critics reamed him out over the Greenbelt land swap revelations. Calandra, meanwhile, backtracked even further on the housing policy front. And a Liberal motion to probe the Greenbelt carve-up was killed by the majority-enjoying PCs.

Let’s dig in.

On the hot seat: Oppo parties have been champing at the bit when it comes to grilling the government on the Greenbelt, and until Question Period returns, committee is the next best thing. Naturally, NDP Finance critic CATHERINE FIFE hammered Calandra on the controversy — but was warned by the PC chair to stick to the Estimates agenda.

Things got tense when Fife tried to suss out more juicy details, including Premier DOUG FORD’s possible meetings with…