ford govt may face an additional ethics complaint in the controversial green belt Another political party is preparing to ask Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner for an expanded investigation as the land swap unfolds.
Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake launched an investigation into whether Housing Minister Steve Clark traded insider information on the Greenbelt deal before the announcement was made public – an allegation the government strongly denies.
The complaint was based primarily on allegations and evidence provided by incoming NDP leader Marit Stiles, who pointed the finger at the CEO of the Ontario Homebuilders Association, who previously served as chief of staff to Minister Clark.
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On Monday, the Ontario Liberals told Global News the party is also preparing to file a detailed complaint to the integrity commissioner about members of the Ford government and their relationship with developers.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said the complaints center was “a direct link between the government, its ministers, the other parties in government and the people who benefited greatly from the decisions made.”
Fraser said the party could take another two weeks to file a complaint to guarantee that the request for investigation is not withdrawn.
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A similar request for an investigation by Premier Doug Ford with Minister Clark, made by Green Party leader Mike Schreiner, was rejected because the complaint did not include evidence for the commissioner to take action.
Fraser said the Liberals are trying to avoid a similar fate.
“You have to ask the right questions, you have to provide the right evidence and arguments to make sure that your complaints can be investigated,” Fraser told Global News.
The Liberals said they had limited the complaint to “individuals currently in government”, but could not confirm whether Premier Ford would be the subject of the request.
It is unclear what, if any, penalties will be imposed if the Integrity Commissioner determines that parts of the Members’ Integrity Act have been violated.
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A spokeswoman for the commissioner said there could be four outcomes including: no fines; a rebuke; A member’s right to vote in the Ontario legislature may be suspended; and the office of the member may be declared vacant.
The spokesperson said, “If the Commissioner recommends that a fine be imposed, the Legislative Assembly may approve the recommendation and order the fine to be imposed, or reject the recommendation, in which case no fine shall be imposed.” “
With Premier Ford’s 83-seat majority, the restriction imposed by the legislature on a sitting member of the government could easily be circumvented.
On Friday, Premier Ford defended his housing minister, saying he was “confident that nobody warned anybody.”
Ontario’s Auditor General has launched an investigation into the price-for-money sale of greenbelt land.
The Ontario Provincial Police has not yet revealed whether it will launch a full-scale investigation.
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