‘Absolutely ridiculous’: Ford fed up when questioned on daughter’s stag and doe
Posted February 15, 2023 12:42 pm.
Last Updated February 15, 2023 1:37 pm.
Premier Doug Ford appeared to lose his patience on Wednesday morning in response to more questions about developers attending his daughter’s stag and doe last summer.
Ford was in Brampton for an announcement about strengthening the province’s electric vehicle sector when he had several testy exchanges with reporters asking about his daughter’s event and subsequent wedding.
“This is absolutely ridiculous. About a $150 stag?” the premier responded when asked how much of the money raised came from developers. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Next question.”
The premier told reporters no one can influence his family, adding they know tens of thousands of people.
“We’re talking here about Magna, we’re talking about job creation. And you want to talk about a $150 stag,” Ford said. “You have to have journalistic integrity.”
“This is the first time in Canadian history you go after any premier’s family. There used to be an unwritten rule you don’t do that.”
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The Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario said it looked into the stag and doe — typically a fundraiser for a couple before they get married — and the wedding of Ford’s daughter after media publication Queen’s Park Briefing asked about it last month.
The province’s integrity commissioner has cleared Ford of any wrongdoing in the matter. Ford denied having any knowledge of gifts given to his daughter and son-in-law and insists there was no discussion of government business at either event.
The premier is refusing to say who sent out invites to the events, but some of the guests have been identified as developers and longtime friends of the Ford family.
“I know the rules, I’ve been in politics for years,” said Ford. “My daughter has a personal life, I don’t get involved in that.”
Separate investigation into Greenbelt development ongoing
Ontario’s integrity commissioner and auditor general are conducting separate investigations into the government’s decision to open protected Greenbelt lands up to housing development. Both Ford and the housing minister deny any wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, the Ontario NDP shared what it considers to be evidence, that someone had been tipped off about part of the Greenbelt being opened for development before the Ford government made the formal announcement.
The provincial government revealed on Nov. 4, 2022, that 7,400 acres of land would be removed from the Greenbelt and converted into housing developments.
It was later revealed that some developers had bought parts of this land just weeks before the government’s announcement.
With files from The Canadian Press
