Ontario Premier Doug Ford is facing renewed scrutiny over his alleged ties to developers, his daughter’s wedding, and potential misuse of power.
According to the Ontario NDP, Ford’s government issued 18 Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) to guests who attended his daughter’s wedding in September 2022, the same number the former Liberal government doled out from 2003 to 2018.
Documents provided to STOREYS show that half of the MZOs were given to Shakir Rehmatullah, the founder of Flato Developments and a self-described "friend" of Ford. Rehmatullah owns land that was removed from — and subsequently returned to — the Greenbelt last year, and was named in the Integrity Commissioner’s report on the land swap.
Former MPP Kaleed Rasheed and Jae Truesdell, Ford’s former Director of Housing Policy, resigned following revelations they went to Las Vegas with Rehmatullah.
Clients of Nico Fidani-Diker, a Principal at lobbying firm ONpoint Strategy Group who was also named in the Integrity Commissioner’s report, received two MZOs, and Carmine Nigro, the President of Craft Development, received one.
The remaining six MZOs were issued to companies that are owned and operated by members of the Cortellucci family, including the Cortel Group.
"From the Greenbelt grab to forced urban boundary expansions to MZOs, Ford has a deeply troubling pattern of putting his friends ahead of everyone else," said Marit Stiles, Leader of the Ontario NDP.
"The Ford Conservatives are already under RCMP criminal investigation for the Greenbelt. This is yet more evidence of sketchy land deals that show just how deep this corruption goes."
MZOs are used to expedite development on a specific piece of land. The provincial tool overrides municipal planning rules, bypasses public consultation, and circumvents expert and environmental analyses. They also can’t be appealed.
During a press conference on October 23, Paul Calandra, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, revealed that he had nearly completed a review of the MZOs issued under his predecessor, Steve Clarke, who resigned in the wake of the Integrity Commissioner’s Greenbelt report.
"By and large, the vast majority of them, frankly, I’m not concerned with," Calandra said when asked if he would reverse course on any MZOs.
"Where I want to look at…is those that have been given an MZO but work has not started in any way. But by and large, I’m fairly satisfied with where we are with the MZOs."
When pressed about his government’s heavy-handed issuance of MZOs to his daughter’s wedding guests, Ford called them a "great tool" and stated that he would "continue accelerating the permit process to get shovels in the ground."
Ontario's Auditor General launched an investigation into the province's use of MZOs in August.
