The Honourable J. David Wake, Integrity Commissioner, today filed a report with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario regarding the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario and MPP for Etobicoke North, and the Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and MPP for Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. The report is in response to an affidavit submitted by Mike Schreiner, Member of Provincial Parliament for Guelph, on November 28, 2022, in which he requested an opinion under section 30 of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994.

Mr. Schreiner requested an opinion on whether Premier Ford and Minister Clark contravened sections 2 (Conflict of interest) and 3 (Insider information) of the Act, as well as Ontario parliamentary convention with respect to the recent proposal and legislation to open parts of the Greenbelt for housing development.

After assessing the request and the media articles provided as supporting material, Commissioner Wake determined that there were insufficient grounds for him to conduct an inquiry. As required by the Act, the Commissioner has set out his reasons for this decision in the report which can be found at www.oico.on.ca under MPP Integrity, Commissioner’s Reports.

Additionally, on December 8, 2022, Marit Stiles, MPP for Davenport, submitted an affidavit in which she requested an opinion on whether Minister Clark contravened sections 2 and 3 of the Act with respect to the decision to allow development on lands in the Greenbelt and Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve. Following an assessment of the information provided in this request, the Commissioner has decided to commence an inquiry under section 31 of the Act.

Once the inquiry has concluded, the Commissioner’s report containing the opinion will be filed with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and published on the Office website.

About the OIC

The Office has seven mandates under five pieces of legislation:

• Members’ Integrity, providing confidential conflict of interest advice to MPPs and conducting inquiries into alleged breaches;
• Ministers’ Staff Ethical Conduct, providing conflict of interest advice and direction to public servants in ministers’ offices;
• Lobbyists Registration, operating Ontario’s lobbyist registry and conducting investigations into potential non-compliance;
• Public Sector Ethics, providing conflict of interest advice and direction to Ethics Executives in ministries and public bodies;
• Disclosure of Wrongdoing, receiving whistleblowing disclosures from current and former members of the Ontario Public Service; and,
• Expenses Review:
  • Reviewing the travel, meal and hospitality expenses of Cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, Opposition leaders, and their staff; and,
  • Reviewing the travel, meal and hospitality expenses of selected provincial agencies.

Contact: Michelle Renaud, Manager, Communications and Outreach | michelle.renaud@oico.on.ca |