Ford government ordered to dig deeper on ‘private’ meetings during Greenbelt decision

Ontario’s transparency watchdog has issued another order calling into question how the Ford government managed records and communications around its decision to remove land from the Greenbelt.

In its latest command, the Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) told the government to write to a former staffer and ask them to sign a sworn affidavit explaining the nature of a series of meetings in their calendar marked as “private.”

The meetings took place between July and December 2022, the period of time when the Ford government planned and announced a decision to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt decision was eventually reversed after a scandal that saw two ministers resign and is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the RCMP.

The province’s integrity commissioner and auditor general both also released scathing investigations into the plan, including an estimate that the decision would have benefited some developers to the tune of more than $8 billion.

Since the government announced and reversed its Greenbelt plan, the IPC has been dealing with a series of requests and appeals under Ontario’s freedom of information laws.

The appeals and orders from the transparency watchdog have raised questions over how the government kept records during and after the scandal.

Some have been prompted by a finding in the auditor general’s report into the Greenbelt, which said political staff had used personal email accounts to communicate around some of the Greenbelt decisions.

The latest order from the IPC stems from a freedom of information request the Ontario NDP filed for the calendar of Carlo Oliviero, who used to work as the executive director of stakeholder relations for Premier Doug Ford.

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The NDP requested the former staffer’s calendar under access to information laws. The documents that were sent to the opposition party included 34 events marked as private.

The NDP appealed the decision, arguing to the IPC that the private meetings could relate to government business and potentially the Greenbelt decision. One event, in particular, appeared to coincide with a meeting sent to Oliviero’s personal email account relating to removing land from the Greenbelt.

As part of its appeal, the NDP submitted a copy of a Microsoft Teams invitation sent to Oliviero’s personal email and several others titled “Subject: Fwd: Winona Lands – East Hamilton – Greenbelt Matters.” The meeting took place at the same time as one of the 34 events on Oliviero’s calendar marked as “private,” according to the order.

The NDP argued, therefore, that the private meeting related to government business and should be made public. The IPC ruling didn’t go as far as to agree with that assertion but suggested the question should be addressed.

“The Teams meeting invitation sent to the affected party’s personal email account that the appellant provided raises serious concerns about whether the corresponding calendar entry marked ‘Private’ in the affected party’s government calendar relates to the affected party in their personal capacity or in their capacity as a government official,” the IPC adjudicator wrote.

“I acknowledge these concerns and accept they raise the question of whether this and some of the other entries in the affected party’s personal calendar may contain government-related information.”

The ruling concluded the government had failed to complete a proper search after the NDP’s freedom of information request — and ordered civil servants to take further steps.

The IPC said the Ford government must “obtain a sworn affidavit” from Oliviero, confirming the nature of each of the 34 entries marked ‘private’ in his calendar. If any of them are found to relate to government work, then the government must consider releasing them.

Global News contacted Oliviero through his current work email address, but did not receive a response ahead of publication. The premier’s office also did not respond to questions.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the calendar entries could be part of a broader picture relating to how the government removed land from the Greenbelt.

“Every little bit of documentation matters in an investigation like this. Let’s be clear, the staff in the premier’s office knew perfectly well, from day one, what the rules were that applied to them in relation to information, calendar entries,” she said.

The order is the latest IPC decision related to the November 2022 decision to remove land from the Greenbelt.

As part of a separate appeal filed by Global News for emails potentially held on former housing chief of staff Ryan Amato’s personal account, the IPC ordered the government to obtain an affidavit and hinted at its power to have people testify under oath.

In another unrelated order, the government was told to ask several former staffers to hand over Greenbelt-related records if they exist in their personal accounts, according to The Trillium.

Stiles said the orders appeared to be a trend from the transparency watchdog.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of request from the information and privacy commission,” she said.

“It’s deeply disturbing the government isn’t making this kind of information accessible immediately, right from the start.”