Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell today filed a report with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario regarding the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier and MPP for Etobicoke North, the Honourable Andrea Khanjin, former Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and MPP for Barrie–Innisfil, the Honourable Todd McCarthy, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and MPP for Durham, and the Honourable Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines and MPP for King–Vaughan.

The report is in response to an affidavit submitted by Ted Hsu, MPP for Kingston and the Islands, on May 12, 2025, in which he requested an opinion under section 30 of the Member's Integrity Act, 1994.

Specifically, Mr. Hsu requested an opinion on whether Premier Ford and Ministers Khanjin, McCarthy and Lecce contravened sections 2, 3, 4 and 8 of the Act with respect to the exemption of the Dresden Landfill from an environmental assessment, as enacted through Bill 5, Protect Ontario Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025.

Under the Act, when a request is made by an MPP under section 30, the Commissioner is required to first determine if there are sufficient grounds to conduct an inquiry.

After assessing both the request and materials provided in submissions from Premier Ford and the three ministers, Commissioner Motherwell determined that there were insufficient grounds for her to conduct an inquiry.

As required by the Act, the Commissioner has set out her reasons in the report filed with the Speaker. The report is available on the Office website under MPP Integrity, Commissioner’s Reports.

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: Juliet Kadzviti, Communications Specialist | Juliet.Kadzviti@oico.on.ca |