Catherine Fife MPP, Waterloo

KITCHENER – Latest reports from CTV News suggest a private company, run by John Mutton, purchased and gifted two $1,500 tickets to a Conservative Party fundraiser featuring Premier Ford. Per the reports, these contributions were not logged in Elections Ontario’s donation disclosure database.

Mutton was identified by various media sources as “Mr. X,” the unregistered lobbyist from the Integrity Commissioner’s blistering report that found disgraced former Housing Minister Steve Clark broke the law.

Official Opposition NDP Finance critic Catherine Fife (Waterloo) has released the following statement in response to these questionable donations: 

“The more we dig, the more alarming this corruption scandal seems to get. It is becoming increasingly clear that Ford’s corrupt Conservatives are not working for Ontarians. And Ontarians deserve to know who their government is working for.

There is a reason we have donation rules in place. Transparency matters. You should not be able to buy legislation or favours through donations, and you certainly should not be able to receive donations that are not visible to the public. 

Marit Stiles and the Official Opposition NDP fully support an investigation from Elections Ontario to get to the bottom of this and see if there are other questionable contributions. The Greenbelt corruption scandal is far from over, and we need to follow the money.

Mr. Ford needs to recall the legislature, return the lands to the Greenbelt, and start facing questions and taking some accountability for this mess.”