The Honourable J. David Wake, Integrity Commissioner, today released his report into a complaint regarding the Honourable Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation and Minister of Francophone Affairs and Member of Provincial Parliament for York–Simcoe, and Stan Cho, Member of Provincial Parliament for Willowdale and currently Associate Minister of Transportation (Transit-Oriented Communities).
This is the second report in response to an affidavit submitted by Taras Natyshak, Member of Provincial Parliament for Essex, on November 2, 2021, in which he requested an opinion under section 30 of the Members’ Integrity Act, 1994 concerning decision-making related to the Bradford Bypass. The first report, released on December 9, 2021, addressed the allegations made about Premier Doug Ford.
Mr. Natyshak alleged in his affidavit that Minister Mulroney breached section 3 of the Act (use of insider information) and that Mr. Cho breached section 4 (influence). These allegations focus on one aspect of decision-making related to the Bradford Bypass; specifically, an alleged decision to alter the route of the proposed highway so that it would not have an impact on a golf course owned by Mr. Cho’s father.
After reviewing available information, Commissioner Wake determined that there are insufficient grounds to conduct an inquiry. He is satisfied that neither Minister Mulroney, Mr. Cho nor their staff had any involvement in directing the process which led to a proposed highway realignment avoiding the golf course. As required by the Act, the Commissioner has set out his reasons for this decision in the report. Past Integrity Commissioner reports can be found at www.oico.on.ca under MPP Integrity, Commissioner’s Reports.
The Commissioner is not available for interviews.
About the OIC
The Office has seven mandates under five pieces of legislation:
- Members’ Integrity, providing confidential conflict of interest advice to MPPs;
- Ministers’ Staff Ethical Conduct, providing conflict of interest advice and direction to public servants in ministers’ offices;
- Lobbyist Registration, operating Ontario’s lobbyist registry and conducting investigations into matters of potential non-compliance;
- Disclosure of Wrongdoing, receiving whistleblowing disclosures from current and former members of the Ontario Public Service;
- Public Sector Ethics, providing conflict of interest advice and direction to a broad range of public servants; 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 agencies.
Contact: Michelle Renaud, Manager, Communications and Outreach | michelle.renaud@oico.on.ca |