The Office of Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner is facing calls for greater transparency after a recent Greenbelt-related investigation uncovered evidence of unregistered lobbying and attempts to tangle public office holders in conflicts of interest.
While the Integrity Commissioner published the name of the lobbyist as a form of punishment for multiple violations of the Lobbyist Registration Act, the details of the investigation have been kept under wraps.
The investigation into Nico Fidani-Diker, a principal lobbyist at ONpoint Strategy Group, determined that he failed to officially register in 2022 when he began lobbying the Ford government on behalf of Greenbelt land owners looking to remove their properties from the protected region.
Fidani-Diker, the integrity commissioner found, also “contravened the act” by offering two public office holders tickets to a Toronto Maple Leafs game which “knowingly” put them in a position of conflict of interest.
“Mr. Fidani-Diker’s failure to register, failure to provide particulars and contraventions of the conflict of interest prohibition undermines the Act’s purpose of transparency and public confidence in the independence of public sector decision making,” the commissioner wrote on a brief position on its website.
In a statement to Global News, Fidani-Diker accepted “full responsibility” and said it was never his “intent to be in non-compliance while lobbying.”
NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the investigation “deeply concerning” but also questioned why the information underpinning the investigation had been kept out of the public view.
On Monday, the NDP wrote to the Integrity Commissioner’s office calling for transparency.
“While your report mentions instances where Mr. Fidani-Diker knowingly placed multiple public officers in a real or potential conflict of interest, the report does not name these public office holders or describe what actions, if any, were taken in response to these real or potential conflicts of interest,” Stiles wrote.
“In the interest of transparency and ensuring that the people of Ontario are fully informed, I am requesting additional information concerning your investigation into Mr. Fidani-Diker.”
Among the requests from the NDP:
– To identify the public officers holders involved and whether it includes MPPs
– To describe the situations in which the office holders were placed in a real or potential conflict of interest
– To confirm whether Premier Doug Ford is one of the public office holders in question
Stiles also questioned why Fidani-Diker is “still permitted to continue lobbying the provincial government,” despite multiple violations of Ontario’s lobbying rules.
“Frankly at the end of the day, somebody like this lobbyist can continue to go out there and do exactly the same thing again and again,” Stiles said. “Only if he’s investigated for it again and its reported out publicly, that pretty much the only rap on the knuckles he gets.”
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said while the report should be released, she also called for a “greater measure of accountability.”
“Let’s be clear, they knew the rules and they didn’t comply,” Crombie asked. “This is a serious ethics breach.”
While Fidani-Diker said his firm has instituted “strict internal compliance on all registerable activities” he also accepted the commissioner’s findings.
“I accept full responsibility for his decisions and findings regarding my initial months as a registered lobbyist, when setting up my company three years ago,” Fidani-Diker said. “These oversights were mine and mine alone.”
“I thank the Integrity Commissioner for bringing closure to this matter and for his recognition that no further action from his office is necessary,” Fidani-Diker said.