Ford cleared by integrity commissioner after questions raised about developers attending daughter’s stag and doe

FILE - Ontario Premier Doug Ford attends a news conference at the Michener Institute of Education in Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Doug Ford did not break any rules when developers described as family friends attended his daughter's stag and doe party, the province's integrity commissioner has ruled.

In a statement to CP24 on Thursday, Michelle Renaud, the communications and outreach manager at the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, said that based on the information about the event provided by the premier and his office staff, "there is nothing to indicate non-compliance with the Members' Integrity Act."

She noted that the information was given to the commissioner's office in late January after the media inquired about the events. Under the Integrity Act, an MPP can request the commissioner to give an opinion and recommendations on any matter respecting to their obligations under the act or Ontario parliamentary convention.

"The information provided to the Commissioner was that these guests, identified as developers, are friends of the Ford family, and in some cases have been for decades," Renaud said.

Renaud said Commissioner David Wake found Ford did not breach the act as the information submitted to him indicated that the premier had no knowledge of the gifts given to his daughter and son-in-law "and that there was no discussion of government business at either of the events." A stag and doe party is a pre-wedding event held to raise money for the couple.

The revelation comes amid a separate investigation by the integrity commissioner into allegations that Housing Minister Steve Clark tipped off developers about the government's plans to change the Greenbelt.

CP24 has reached out the premier's office for comment but has not received a response.

Both Ford and Clark have denied the accusation. The premier said last month that he was confident developers did not know about the decision to remove 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt.

"I'm confident no one gave anyone a heads-up," Ford said at a news conference on Jan. 20. "It's not government land. It's private individuals' land. They have the right to sell to anyone they want."

Ford had defended the move to make changes to the Greenbelt, saying it is necessary so the province can meet its goal of building 1.5 million homes over the next decade.

Ontario's auditor general has also launched an investigation into Ford's Greenbelt plan, specifically a value-for-money audit into the financial and environmental impacts of the removal of previously protected land.

"If people weren't already asking questions about Doug Ford's cozy relationship with developers, they sure will be now," Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said in a statement. "Ontarians will have questions about what exactly occurs behind closed doors at Ford's parties. I know I do."

Stiles, along with Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner and interim Liberal Party Leader John Fraser, pushed for the investigations into the Ford government's plan to develop the Greenbelt.

In a statement, Schreiner said the presence of developers at Ford's daughter's wedding events raises new questions.

"It's clear that this type of behaviour has become a pattern for Ford. Just like those conveniently timed Greenbelt land deals, something is not adding up."

"The people of Ontario deserve transparency: about how certain land speculators knew to buy parcels of then undevelopable Greenbelt land, and about why the Ford government puts speculator profits above the public good."

- with files from CP24's Cristina Tenaglia and CTV News Toronto's Katherine DeClerq