Premier Doug Ford continues to be the target of Integrity Commissioner complaints by opposing members of Ontario's legislators. Although there is value in having a complaint process to oversee the conduct of elected representatives, the process should not be used as a means to sensationalize perceived controversial government decisions or to make unsupported, frivolous accusations against an elected member in order to impugn their integrity. Accordingly, where a complaint is based on insufficient evidence, an Integrity Commissioner has the ability to refuse to conduct an inquiry.
In Office of the Integrity Commissioner (Re The Honourable Doug Ford and The Honourable Steve Clark), January 18, 2023, the Ontario Integrity Commissioner concluded that a complaint made by Green Party leader, Mike Schreiner, against Premier Ford and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, about the government's changes to the Greenbelt Plan was unworthy of an inquiry.
In the fall of 2022, the Ontario government announced that it would permit a portion of land located in the Greenbelt to be developed. This portion of land had previously been protected from development. The announcement created political controversy because the media linked this portion of land to developers who had donated...
