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Ontario integrity commissioner puts Ford wedding complaint on hold
A second complaint by NDP Leader Marit Stiles has been put on hold as the integrity commissioner investigates a previous one.

Thestar.com
March 17, 2023
Kristin Rushowy

Ontario’s integrity commissioner has asked “government and non-government sources” to hand over documents related to a complaint about the province opening up portions of the Greenbelt, and plans to summon “numerous witnesses,” says an interim report issued Thursday.

In the report, J. David Wake says he is also putting on hold a second complaint by NDP Leader Marit Stiles as he investigates her first one.

In January, Stiles asked the integrity commissioner to investigate whether there was any conflict of interest or sharing of confidential information by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark regarding the government’s decision to swap land out of the Greenbelt for housing. The complaint came after what she called the “curious timing of recent purchases of Greenbelt land by powerful landowners with donor and political ties to the Ontario PC Party.”

Then, in February, Stiles asked Wake to look into whether any rules were broken in relation to the stag-and-doe and/or the wedding of Premier Doug Ford’s daughter, which were attended by numerous developers, as previously reported by the Star.

In a statement Thursday, Stiles said Wake’s report “acknowledges the limitations of the Member’s Integrity Act, yet indicates that the evidence I presented may nevertheless meet the high bar of reasonable and probable grounds for a full investigation into the premier’s conduct pending the conclusion of his investigation into my complaint regarding the dismantling of the Greenbelt.”

The Ford government plans to allow development on 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt -- the two-million-acre stretch of land around Greater Toronto -- while adding 9,400 acres. Clark has said no tips were provided to developers and the land is needed for housing.

Ford has noted Wake cleared him of any conflict in the wedding festivities. Wake said in his interim report that in such cases, his opinion is based on information provided and is not the same as an inquiry.

“To a large extent, the opinion provided under section 28 (of the Members’ Integrity Act) is only as good as the information provided to me by the member or their staff,” he said.

Wake said Ford’s staff contacted him in January, after a reporter sought information about the stag-and-doe and wedding, and if any developers “contributed financially to the wedding at the stag and doe, or provided gifts at the wedding. Further, the reporter wanted to know if any government business relating to ‘development policies’ or ‘the Greenbelt land swap’ was discussed between Ford, his staff, and developers and lobbyists at the wedding or the stag and doe.

“I offered Premier Ford my opinion that there was nothing wrong with having invited personal friends, who happen to be government stakeholders, to either event, provided the provisions of the act were adhered to, which includes not revealing confidential government information,” he wrote.

He added that “the gift rule is very specific. It applies only to the member who receives the gift. It does not apply to gifts received from third parties to an adult child of the member or her spouse. Even the definition of ‘family’ in the act is restricted to the member, the member’s spouse and minor children.”

Wake said he is not prepared to dismiss Stiles’ second complaint “since there is an overlap to some extent with the issue being determined in her first request. Therefore I am placing it in abeyance until I have completed the investigation on the first.”

In that investigation, Wake said he has requested documents from government and non-government sources and is reviewing the material gathered so far. His final report will be made public, he said.