Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner could end up in court over a report released earlier this week that cleared Premier Doug Ford of any wrongdoing in the controversial appointment of Supt. Ron Taverner as OPP Commissioner.
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, an organziation that advocates for government accountability and democratic reform, calls the report “negligently bad” and claims it ignores clear violations of Ontario’s ethics laws.
Conacher specifically points to the portion of Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake’s report that says Ford initially offered Taverner a position with the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) before hiring him as OPP Commissioner.
“Premier Ford indicated that in August 2018, he approached Mr. Taverner about working at the OCS,” the report states. “Mr. Taverner confirmed this, indicating that Premier Ford asked him if he would be interested in a position at the OCS.”
Conacher says Ford’s attempt to “hand a government job to his friend” was improper and breaches several portions of the Members’ Integrity Act – which governs the conduct of Members of Provincial Parliament.
Democracy Watch says it will consult with lawyers and potentially file a court challenge to overturn Wake’s ruling.
The group is also raising concerns about the involvement of the head of a lobbying firm in the affair.
During the height of the controversy, the Premier’s Office leaned on Chris Froggatt, co-founder of Loyalist Public Affairs, to help “develop a proactive communications plan,” according to Wake’s report.
Froggatt is not a registered lobbyist and says he does not discuss clients with the government. However, his firm has been hired by a number of high-profile clients, including those in the cannabis and ride-sharing app industries, to lobby the Ontario government.
Froggatt, who the Integrity Commissioner describes as a friend of Ford’s Chief of Staff, Dean French, helped Taverner craft an email on Dec. 15 stating that Taverner wished to delay his upcoming appointment as OPP commissioner.
Froggatt told CTV News Toronto, he was not paid for the work, nor was he operating under an official contract with the Premier’s Office.
While the Integrity commissioner does not assign blame, Conacher questions Froggatt’s involvement.
“When you have a situation where favours are being done by anyone connected to lobbying, the government then creates a conflict of interest because it essentially makes the politicians feel an obligation to return the favour,” Conacher tells CTVNews.
Ford defended Froggatt at a news conference on Wednesday, calling him a “great communicator.”
