Former Assistant to Ontario Premier Doug Ford failed to follow lobbying rules while representing clients seeking to remove land from locally designated protected areas, according to the provincial Integrity Commissioner.
The report outlines several cases of violating Fidani-Diker in the Ontario Lobbyist Registration Act of 1998.
The document states that while representing the same client, Fidani-Diker deliberately placed the two civil servants in a “realistic or potential” conflict of interest by providing Toronto Maple Leafs tickets.
“Fidani Daiker’s failure to register, details of the prohibition of conflicts of interest and the failure to provide violations prevents the purpose of the law of transparency and public trust in public decision-making,” the sincere committee wrote.
Fidani-Diker said in a statement that while establishing the company three years ago, he accepts full responsibility for Wake’s decision and findings regarding his first few months as a registered lobbyist.
Related Stories
Later that year, Ford overturned plans to open the green belt for development and promised not to make any changes in the future.
The Green Belt area, which stretches from the eastern edge of Oak Ridge Moraine to the west, to the Niagara River, was created in 2005 to protect farmland, forests, wetlands, basins, and communities.
Violation of Fidani-Diker
In its latest non-compliance report, the Ontario Integrity Commissioner says Fidani Duyker also violated lobbying rules in 2022. The change required an amendment to Ontario’s Greenbelt Act, the commissioner points out.
In the same year, Coach Fidani was placed in conflicts of interest in separate instances, lobbying two public holders for their clients. According to the report, he had prior connections with both, whether political, professional or personal.
Then, in 2023, Fidani-Dyker violated lobbying rules by failing to provide details about another regulatory change he wanted from clients who wanted to increase the height and density of the property’s acceptable buildings.
The sanctions imposed by the Commissioner on Director Fidani for breaking the rules were to release his name and disclose his violation and other information he deemed necessary, Michelle Renault, a spokeswoman for the Commissioner’s office, told The Epoch Times.
In some cases, the commissioner could ban anyone found to have lobbyed for up to two years, she said.
The Canadian press and Marnie Caskirt contributed to this report.
