NDP: Ford’s Conservatives vote against cleaning up corruption

QUEEN’S PARK – Under the cloud of an RCMP criminal investigation, Ford’s Conservatives voted against tighter ethics and accountability laws at Queen’s Park this morning.

“It goes without saying that a government that votes down an anti-corruption law can’t be trusted,” said Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP. “It’s clear they have no interest in restoring people’s trust in their government after their scandals. They’re hoping Ontarians are as cynical as they are and will forget, but I know that’s not true. Ontarians deserve a government with integrity that acts with their best interests at heart.”

The Ontario NDP tabled the Cleaning up Corruption Act in November 2023. Ford’s Conservatives voted it down today.

“With Ford under RCMP criminal investigation, this would have been a common-sense way to close the loopholes in our system that they use to put wealthy insiders first,” said MPP Chris Glover (Spadina—Fort York), NDP critic for Democratic Reform. “Voting against this bill just proves that Ford will continue to prioritize land speculators and wealthy insiders over everyone else.”

QUICK FACTS:

The Ontario NDP’s Cleaning up Corruption Act would have implemented recommendations from the Auditor General (AG) and Integrity Commissioner (IC) to strengthen Ontario’s integrity laws, including:

• Empowering the IC to launch their own investigations, with expanded scope
• Strengthening the Member’s Integrity Act to prevent MPPs from acting in a way that furthers their own personal interest or could reasonably be perceived to further an individual’s personal interest, or that of their extended family
• Preventing preferential treatment by MPPs through the Members’ Integrity Act. This standard is already in place at the federal level
• Amending the Auditor General Act to help the AG access information during an audit (Ford blocked the AG from accessing information in the audit of Laurentian University).