NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, June 27, 2014
OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch released the complaint affidavit (.doc file) it has filed with the City of Toronto Integrity Commissioner today requesting that in Democracy Watch’s opinion she should investigate the inside government lobbying by Rob Ford and Doug Ford on behalf of two companies that have ties to the Fords’ family business to determine if their actions violate the Code of Conduct for Members of Council (the “Code”).
“Democracy Watch believes that the inside lobbying actions of Rob Ford and Doug Ford on behalf of two companies that have ties to their family business raise serious questions that the Integrity Commissioner should investigate to determine whether the city’s council’s code of conduct has been violated,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch who filed the complaint affidavit on behalf of Democracy Watch.
As the Globe and Mail has documented in a few articles over the past couple of months, Rob Ford and Doug Ford have requested that City of Toronto officials to meet with representatives of two companies, have attended the meetings, and have assisted the companies with their activities concerning decision-making by city officials. Both companies have ties to the Fords’ family business, ties that city officials claim they were not informed by the Fords.
The preamble to the Code includes four statements of principle that “underline” the Code, including that members of Council should perform their functions with “integrity”; perform their duties and arrange their private affairs “in a manner that promotes public confidence and will bear close public scrutiny”; and uphold both the letter and the spirit of all laws.
The Code also has specific rules that prohibit: “the use of one’s status as a member of Council to improperly influence the decision of another person” to advantage of the councilor or their family or associates; and referring a corporation to a person in return for a “personal benefit”.
In addition, the Code has a rule that states “members of Council should not engage knowingly in communications” with someone who is lobbying the city government if the person is required to be registered as a lobbyist and is not registered. It seems that the representatives of one of the companies that the Fords have communicated with and assisted should be registered as lobbying the city, and they are not registered.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Duff Conacher, Board member of Democracy Watch
Tel: 613-241-5179
Cell: 416-546-3443
Email: [email protected]
Democracy Watch’s Government Ethics Campaign