Yak's back — and cashing in on old connections

Hot air, hotter dance moves

ABOVE THE FOLD

FORESTRY FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES — DOUG FORD’s former cabinet minister and rural whisperer JOHN YAKABUSKI is back — this time on the other side of the Cabinet table.

Yakabuski — who spent 22 years representing Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke at Queen’s Park and was tight with the Premier (serving both as Minister and Ford’s Parliamentary Assistant) — has found his way on to the lobbyists’ registry.

Yak, as he’s known around these parts, is representing Ben Hokum & Son Limited, a sawmill in his neck of the woods in Killaloe. And the location isn’t the only thing that’s familiar territory for the ex-MPP — Yakabuski served as Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry from 2018 to 2021. Even more eyebrow-raising: He was the one who handed the company a $5.5-million cheque to help them upgrade equipment and create jobs.

Now, barely five months after hanging up his legislative hat and not seeking re-election in February, Yak’s back lobbying the very government he used to serve — fo…