Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie says Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford is partially responsible for the behaviour of two former staffers alleged to have used their contacts in a real-estate rezoning scheme.
Oakville, Ont., property owner Amanpreet Jakhar and two numbered companies have filed a $2.2-million suit against former government staffers Ryan Amato and Shiv Raj, as well as developer Frontier Group.
Jakhar and the companies say they wanted to have three properties rezoned so they could be developed.
They allege Amato, Raj and the Frontier Group pledged to rezone those properties "using their backchannel contacts and political connections."
Crombie says the allegations are reminiscent of Ford's now-reversed plan to develop the Greenbelt, and with that decision under criminal investigation by the RCMP, she believes Ford has called the snap Feb. 27 election to outrun the results of that probe.
Ford says he doesn't know anything about Jakhar's allegations, while Amato, Raj and the Frontier Group have filed notices in court of their intent to defend themselves against the lawsuit.
Jakhar claims they signed a contract with Frontier to help with the strategy to secure the rezoning permits at a cost of more than $55,000.
The suit alleges some of that money would flow indirectly to Amato, who was then the chief of staff for former housing minister Steve Clark, and Raj, who was working in the premier's office at the time.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.
Allison Jones and Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
