SCOOP: What's in the Mr. X report
And a Ford whisperer's guide to the Throne Speech
ABOVE THE FOLD
TOP LINES…
— I got my hands on the Integrity Commissioner’s report outing “Mr. X” as JOHN MUTTON, who was busted for breaking lobbying rules and banned from doing it again for two years
— Tory insider LARYSSA WALER sets the stage for today’s Speech from the Throne, and offers some sage advice for rookie and OG staff alike
— DONNA SKELLY made “herstory” — as the friendly hecklers from the Oppo benches put it — by becoming Ontario’s first-ever woman Speaker
— “Truth hurts”: Premier DOUG FORD had some choice words for his federal cousins as he waded into the election’s Tory civil war
— Mass exodus at SolGen
First in Observer — MR. X REPORT REVEALED — Yesterday, I told you about the forthcoming Integrity Commissioner report that finds the so-called MR. X — a.k.a. Greenbelt MZO-seeking consultant JOHN MUTTON — in violation of the lobbying rules, which comes with a two-year ban on such activity.
Today, I’ve got the skinny on what exactly is in the watchdog’s non-compliance report, which will be released on April 17, Queen’s Park Observer has learned.
Outgoing ethics watchdog J. DAVID WAKE is set to release a one-pager summarizing Mutton’s transgressions, which include “undertaking to lobby when payment was contingent upon success” and “failing to file a registration” after he lobbied unnamed public office holders “with respect to requesting that a client’s lands be removed from the Greenbelt” as well as other clients’ requests for Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs).
Those are big no-no’s under the Lobbyists Registration Act.
While lobbying to remove protected Greenbelt lands, Wake said Mutton knowingly put two public office holders in “a real or potential conflict of interest” by offering them gifts — a private round of golf and Raptors tickets.
After lobbying two public office holders for certain MZOs, Mutton put them in murky territory again — this time through political fundraising.
“For one of these public office holders, Mr. Mutton organized a political fundraiser raising more than $25,000 for the public office holder’s riding association approximately two months prior to the beginning of the 2022 provincial election,” Wake’s report reads. “In a lobbying communication to the second public office holder, Mr. Mutton noted he was responsible for bringing $5,000 to a particular political fundraiser and suggested some of these funds might benefit this public office holder, who was participating in that event.”
Win big, pay big: Mutton reportedly got paid hefty fees that were contingent on his lobbying successes. From 2021 to 2023, Wake said Mutton raked in at least $625,000 in contingency fees.
The breakdown: In late 2021 and early 2022, Mutton was paid $300,000 for MZO-related lobbying; in 2022, he got $225,000 for lobbying to remove a client’s lands from the Greenbelt; also in 2022, he was paid $100,000 for scoring an MZO for a client. In 2023, Mutton had lined up a contingency fee of $250,000 for MZO-related lobbying, which “also included payment for additional work,” but that “was not yet payable at the time the investigation was completed,” Wake said.
Grits, too: Wake also dredged up Mutton’s Liberal government-era lobbying from 2016 and 2017, in which he failed to file a registration after lobbying three public office holders, on three different occasions, “with respect to the client’s goal of amending government policy and the making of legislation.”
Wake isn’t naming the public office holders or clients.
Benched: All of that amounts to a two-year ban on provincial lobbying for Mutton starting April 17 — one of the harshest penalties in Wake’s back pocket.
For his part, Mutton maintains he “acted in compliance with lobbying regulations and requirements for my consulting work.” He also claims that “in many instances, I was solicited by public officials to share my expertise, not the other way around.”
That’s from a letter the former Clarington mayor and jiu-jitsu champion wrote to Wake earlier this year. Mutton disagreed with Wake’s findings but won’t seek reconsideration “in the interests of my personal well-being and that of my business and employees.” He says he’s “relieved” the nearly two-year investigation is complete, as it “has taken a toll on me personally and professionally.”
Some of the violations laid out in the non-compliance report were covered in Wake’s bombshell 2023 investigation that forced the Ford government to backtrack on its Greenbelt carve-up. But Wake had not interviewed Mutton at that point, so he was only referred to as “Mr. X.”
Mutton took issue with that, saying Wake already characterized him as a “principal character” and “the fall guy” in the land swap scandal, which was “completely unfair.”
Wake, who’s retiring, recently released another report regarding NICO FIDANI-DIKER, a former aide to Premier DOUG FORD who was also found breaking the rules by failing to disclose his attempts to get developer clients’ lands removed from the Greenbelt, hitting up government officials that were his friends, and even proffering hockey tickets. Fidani-Diker said such “oversights” were his responsibility and took place when he was just starting up his consulting firm.
Watchdog’s bark is worse than bite: Fidani-Diker was publicly named, but he’s still allowed to lobby at his old provincial stomping grounds. Oppo critics called it a slap on the wrist and said the ethics watchdog needs more teeth.
Don’t forget: Ontario is supposed to review lobbying laws regularly, but years after the deadline, it still hasn’t happened. Catch up.
WALER’S GUIDE TO THE THRONE SPEECH — We already know what Premier DOUG FORD had to say about today’s Speech from the Throne, which will lay out the government’s priorities and set the tone for the spring session.
Expect to hear a lot of the same talk we heard on the campaign trail in February: “protecting Ontario” amid U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty. “It’s not business as usual,” Ford said last week, teasing legislation to break down interprovincial trade barriers (more on that momentarily).
Now, let’s hear from one of the insiders who knows Ford best: LARYSSA WALER, the Premier’s former executive director of communications who now heads up her own consulting firm, Henley Strategies.
What are you expecting from the Throne Speech? “A focus on the economy. They still want to reassure investors and the business community that Ontario is a place to do business and a safe, stable place to make significant investments, and that they’re going to do everything they can to make it business friendly. So, like, reducing red tape, reducing barriers, making it easier to get projects off the ground, because we are facing massive job losses in traditionally stable industries and industries that we have put a lot of government resources into. We need to come up with additional appealing reasons that companies will want to setp up shop in Ontario.”
What advice would you give the Premier when it comes to setting the tone for the session? “I would advise him to do what worked for him during the election, because it was eminently successful. And that’s keep the Captain Canada piece up and continue to be willing to work with anybody and everybody who is going to be helpful to Ontarians…Stay very much the steady ship in a sea of chaos that is DONALD TRUMP.”
How much of a curveball is the federal election? We’ve got a provincial budget coming up and we don’t know who’s going to be Prime Minister. Ford has been buddy-buddy with MARK CARNEY, not so much with PIERRE POILIEVRE. Will his job get harder depending on who’s in the PM’s seat? “Ford has demonstrated —and it’s a sincere position that he’s staked out — that he’s willing to work with anybody who is willing to work with him. It makes sense that he has a good relationship with Carney since Carney became Prime Minister, because that’s to the net benefit of Ontario. Should Pierre Poilievre win, he will make sure that there is a very stable working relationship with the Conservative Party.”
Legislation-wise, what are you expecting? “I think it’s going to be pretty busy. You’re going to see him look to remove barriers to doing business. So, expediting approvals and doing things that maybe aren’t very much discussed at the kitchen table, but are very important to the business community when they’re looking at alternative jurisdictions to America.”
Go on. “So, if there are retaliatory tariffs or a lot of instability, say, between China and the United States, and if you are a manufacturing facility looking to expand and you were going to expand in the States, you’re going to look to expand in Canada, because Canada is likely not going to be in a tariff war with the States, right? And I think there’s a lot of opportunities like that, where Ontario will actually be competing against other provinces to attract investment. So there will be incentives and cutting red tape that needs to happen in Ontario if we’re going to compete with Alberta or B.C. or Nova Scotia. They have to absolutely remove interprovincial trade barriers — but they’re also going to want to compete against each other for international investment that’s looking for an alternative to the States.”
It wasn’t so long ago that you were working here at the Leg. Any advice for rookie staffers as the new Parliament revs up? “I’m evangelical about this — spend time in the constituency. If you are a ministerial staffer and you are new, or even if you’ve been here for four, five, six years — go spend time in the constituency. Get to know your minister’s constituency. Get to know what normal people think. Get to know what they’re worried about. Get to know what the constituency staff have to deal with, because, one: Doug Ford cares, but two: it makes you better at your job when you know what normal people outside of Queen’s Park think about.”
“HERSTORY!” — That was the cheer coming from the NDP benches as PC DONNA SKELLY became the first woman in provincial history to step up to the Speaker’s dais.
“It’s 2025 and yes, we’re just now electing a female Speaker, but it is such a privilege,” Skelly said after the vote. “When I say I’m humbled, I genuinely, I really am. I’m very emotional. It’s just so incredible.”
Skelly is a former journalist, so she knows a thing or two about keeping politicians in check as she takes on the role of legislative referee. She said she wants to bring “the temperature down” and that she’s spoken with MPPs across the aisle who agree.
“Politics is a very, very tough sport. It’s a bloodsport, and especially with social media, there are a lot of attacks on our politicians. We don’t need to be attacking each other in the House. You can be passionate, but let’s not make it personal.”
That said, if any MPP gets too rowdy, Skelly’s not afraid to “throw them out.”
Indeed, NDP Leader MARIT STILES, Liberal captain BONNIE CROMBIE and the Greens’ MIKE SCHREINER were mostly in kumbaya mode on day one of the 44th Parliament. They congratulated Skelly and said the current state of play — staring down U.S. tariffs — calls for cooperation across party lines.
But it was short lived. Ford didn’t seem keen on a cross-partisan working group to address the tariff situation. Stiles vowed to push Ford if the response falls short.
Skelly was up against the NDP’s JENNIFER FRENCH, a former deputy speaker whose last job as a schoolteacher would also make her well-suited to herding rowdy MPPs. The pair hugged in the House after the vote.
A little birdie tells me Liberal ANDREA HAZELL may be eyeing one of the deputy speaker’s gigs, something that will be decided via a motion.
Former Speaker and veteran MPP TED ARNOTT, who did not seek re-election, was in the House shaking hands with MPPs during the vote (a pretty cool affair featuring wooden boxes on the Clerk’s table where MPPs cast their secret ballots). The moment:
HAPPENING TODAY
9:30 a.m.: Liberal Leader BONNIE CROMBIE and her caucus crew are up in the Media Studio to “set expectations” ahead of the new session.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
It’s the Speech from the Throne! Expect plenty of pomp and circumstance. Here’s your play-by-play:
12:40 p.m.: The ceremony kicks off on the South Lawn with gun salutes, followed by a procession into the chamber, which will be packed with special guests and dignitaries. A live band will be playing tunes from the Press Gallery. Lieutenant Governor EDITH DUMONT will deliver the Speech (Her Honour’s first!), which lays out the Ford government’s priorities at 1 p.m.
After the speech, MPPs will sing the national anthem, the LG will exit the chamber with provincial court judges and justices in tow, and Speaker DONNA SKELLY will step in and start the session with a prayer.
Then, the pro forma Bill 1, An act to perpetuate an ancient parliamentary right, will be introduced. Don’t let the fancy-sounding name fool you — it’s routine legislation that allows Parliament to function without permission from the Crown.
A motion to consider the Throne Speech will also hit the Clerk’s table. The House then adjourns until Wednesday morning for Question Period.
BILLS, BILLS, BILLS
Premier DOUG FORD already scooped the first piece of legislation from the government benches: breaking down interprovincial trade barriers. Fellow First Minister TIM HOUSTON, who tabled similar legislation in Nova Scotia, will be on hand Wednesday to sign an MOU on the matter.
Also headed for the Clerk’s table: Moves to “transform or eliminate all permits issued at the provincial and municipal levels within a year,” with an eye to wiping out bureaucratic hurdles. CBC got the jump. There’s also legislation in the works “to designate ‘economic priority areas’…to help the province fast-track access to critical minerals in the Ring of Fire.” Global’s got the deets.
CLIPPINGS
— “TRUTH HURTS”: As Liberal frontrunner MARK CARNEY widens his lead over wannabe Conservative PM PIERRE POILIEVRE, DOUG FORD had some choice words for his federal cousins. “Echoing criticism expressed by his campaign guru, KORY TENEYCKE, Ford said the federal Tories only have themselves to blame. ‘He’s tough as nails, but he’s the best campaign manager in the country,’ Ford said Monday of Teneycke, who has accused Poilievre’s team of ‘campaign malpractice’ for ‘blowing’ a huge poll lead.” (Expletives omitted)
The Star has the latest: “If Kory was running that campaign, I don’t think Mr. Poilievre would be in the position he is in right now…sometimes the truth hurts.”
It’s no secret there’s no love lost between Ford, the country’s most powerful Tory politician, and Poilievre, who’s tanking in public-opinion polls. Ford’s preferred pollster NICK KOUVALIS shed some light on their rocky relationship.
WE DID IT! — In all the hullaballoo of back-to-back elections, I didn’t realize I hit a major milestone a few weeks ago: Queen’s Park Observer’s 1,000th edition! Time flies.
None of this would be possible without your support. Thanks for reading, subscribing, and spreading the word about my work. Together, we’ve made this the most-read newsletter at Queen’s Park, and I’m beyond grateful.
💌 Now I want to hear from you: What are you enjoying about this newsletter? What do you want to see more of? What could I be doing better? Drop me a line at sabrina@qpobserver.ca, reply to this email, swing by Room 476 or hit the button:
— CAMPUS CURE-ALL: “A coalition of labour groups is the latest to call on the Ford government to spend more on Ontario’s public colleges as part of a tariff response strategy, saying the training they provide is key to reducing economic reliance on the United States. On Monday, union leaders took to Queen’s Park to make their pitch to ‘save’ Ontario’s college sector.” Global News has that story.
— SHOT, CHASER, FALLOUT: Also from Global: “Ontario’s new Education Minister PAUL CALANDRA says vaccination rates among students in some parts of the province are concerning as a measles outbreak continues and some school boards suspend unvaccinated students.” Liberal Health critic and doctor ADIL SHAMJI is, ahem, needling the Ford government, saying “underinvestment in public health had made it harder to ramp up vaccination efforts because local authorities lack staffing.”
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
First in Observer — MASS EXODUS — Solicitor General MICHAEL KERZNER is bleeding personnel.
Devoted readers will already know about Kerzner’s chief of staff JOSHUA WORKMAN’s exit. Ditto that of staffer RICHARD SOOKRAJ.
Then there’s Kerzner’s former director of policy and stakeholder relations GIANCARLO DA-RÉ, who’s hopped over to Premier DOUG FORD’s team as D-Pol. Word on the street is Energy and Mines Minister STEPHEN LECCE has snatched up Kerzner’s D-Comms CHELSEA McGEE.
Three’s a trend: Other comms staffers that have fallen by the wayside include LILY BARNES, CHARLOTTE CARRON and LAUREN WILKINSON.
Kerzner’s new chief of staff NICOLAS DI MARCO — an inner-circle Ford loyalist — is expected to run a tight ship.
How one staffer is spinning the departures: “An office refresh for the new mandate.”
What paid subscribers got this month: The latest chiefs-of-staff shakeup, major moves in the Premier’s Office, the Deputy Ministers’ shuffle and loads more.
SPOTTED ON THE FEDERAL CAMPAIGN TRAIL:
Not just PCs, but Grits too: BONNIE CROMBIE was out stumping with former-provincial-candidate-turned-federal-contender Dr. ROSE ZACHARIAS in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte…PRABMEET SARKARIA shot a promo video for fellow Brampton politico SUKHDEEP KANG.
REGULATORY ROUNDUP
On Tuesdays, we sum up the government’s latest proposals on the Regulatory Registry — where the nitty-gritty of policymaking is hammered out.
STRONG-MAYOR FINE PRINT — The proposal: Extending strong-mayor powers to another 169 municipalities, which the government announced last week. The public has until April 16 to weigh in.
🍽️ LUNCH SPECIAL: Beef curry with rice and vegetables.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 13 days until federal E-Day…29 days until Spring Fling.
💌 Are you a rookie or returning MPP or staffer? I want to know what you’re looking forward to this session, what your priorities are, and when your birthday is! Get at me, on or off the record: sabrina@qpobserver.ca, or come by Room 476 on the fourth floor of the East Wing.