Greg  Essensa  
Chief  Electoral  Officer  
Elections  Ontario  
51  Rolark  Drive  
Toronto,  ON    M1R  3B1  
 
Dear  Greg  Essensa,    
 
We  are  writing  to  you  to  address  serious  allegations  and  concerns  surrounding  political  party  
fundraising  rules  recently  raised  in  the  Ontario  Legislature.  In  recent  weeks,  concerns  about  political  
parties  adhering  to  the  provisions  laid  out  in  the  Election  Finances  Act,  1990  have  been  raised  by  
members  on  both  the  Government  and  Opposition  benches.  In  consideration  of  these  concerns,  we  are  
calling  on  you  to  conduct  a  full  audit  and/or  investigation  of  fundraising  practices  by  all  parties  
currently  represented  in  the  Legislature.    
 
Concerns  regarding  the  Ontario  NDP’s  ‘Celebrating  Andrea’s  Ten  Years’    
 
Section  23  (6)  of  the  Election  Finances  Act,  1990  states:    
 
The  registered  party  shall  post  the  information  described  in  subsection  (5),  
 
(a)  at  least  seven  days  before  the  date  of  the  fund-­‐raising  event;  or  
 
(b)  in  the  case  of  a  fund-­‐raising  event  that  is  to  take  place  during  the  period  commencing  with  the  issue  
of  a  writ  for  an  election  and  terminating  on  election  day,  at  least  three  days  before  the  date  of  a  fund-­‐
raising  event.    
 
During  question  period  on  March  191,  the  Premier  raised  a  concern  with  the  announcement  of  a  
fundraiser  hosted  by  the  Ontario  NDP  in  celebration  of  Andrea  Horwath’s  tenth  anniversary  of  being  
party  leader2.  The  Premier  stated  that  the  information  surrounding  the  fundraiser  was  made  publically  
available  only  four  (4)  days  in  advance  of  the  event,  rather  than  the  mandated  seven  (7)  days.  This  
concern  was  repeated  the  following  day.  
 
In  addition  to  the  posting  date  of  the  fundraiser  information,  the  Premier,  along  with  members  of  his  
caucus,  raised  other  concerns  about  the  fundraiser,  including:    
 
• The  NDP  engaging  with  the  leadership  of  public  unions  and  “downtown  elite  friends”.  
• Setting  the  maximum  ticket  price  for  the  event  at  $800.  
• Alleging  that  individuals  who  purchase  a  Leader’s  Circle  ticket  would  be  “rewarded”.  
• The  fact  that  the  fundraiser  would  include  an  open  bar.    
                                                                                                           
1
 https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-­‐business/house-­‐documents/parliament-­‐42/session-­‐1/2019-­‐03-­‐19/hansard    
2
 https://www.ontariondp.ca/celebrate-­‐10-­‐years    
 • Accepting  union  and  corporate  donations.    
 
These  are  serious  allegation  and  warrant  a  thorough  investigation.  
 
Concerns  regarding  the  Ontario  Progressive  Conservative  Party’s  ‘Leader’s  Dinner’  
 
As  you  know,  Ontario’s  election  financing  law  has  enshrined  the  principle  that  individuals,  and  only  
individuals,  may  donate  to  political  parties.  The  Legislature  unanimously  adopted  changes  to  legislation  
that  would  ban  corporate  and  union  donations  –  directly  or  indirectly.  Section  19  of  the  Election  
Finances  Act,  1990  specifically  states:  
 
No  person  shall  contribute  to  any  political  party,  constituency  association,  nomination  
contestant,  candidate  or  leadership  contestant  registered  under  this  Act,  
 
(a)  funds  that  do  not  actually  belong  to  the  person;  or  
 
(b)  any  funds  that  have  been  given  or  furnished  by  any  person  or  group  of  persons  or  by  a  
corporation  or  trade  union  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  contribution  
 
On  February  27,  the  PC  Party  of  Ontario  held  a  fundraising  dinner  at  which  the  featured  guest  was  
Premier  Doug  Ford.  Several  Government  Cabinet  Ministers  also  attended.  The  price  of  admission  was  a  
$1,250  donation  to  the  PC  Party  of  Ontario.  
 
While  the  Premier  and  his  Cabinet  Ministers  have  insisted  that  every  attendee  paid  for  their  own  
admission  to  the  February  27  event,  there  are  serious  questions  as  to  whether  this  is  the  case.  Multiple  
media  reports  indicate  that  registered  lobbyists  were  pressured  to  sell  tickets  to  their  clients  and  buy  
them  themselves  in  order  to  maintain  what  one  reporter  described  as  “high  level  access  to  the  
government”.  We  have  appended  the  relevant  articles.  
 
The  intention  behind  the  ban  on  corporate  and  union  donations  was  to  ensure  that  individuals  –  and  
only  individuals  –  donated  to  political  parties.  Registered  lobbyists,  as  a  rule,  do  not  represent  
individuals.  They  are  almost  universally  registered  to  lobby  on  behalf  of  an  incorporated  interest.  If  a  
registered  lobbyist  was  pressured  to  sell  tickets  to  clients,  it  is  hard  to  imagine  that  she  or  he  was  
approaching  individuals.  
 
This  raises  serious  questions  concerning  possible  violations  of  Section  19  of  the  Act.  Publicly  available  
donor  records  on  the  Elections  Ontario  website  show  that  individuals  who  appear  to  be  associated  
with  each  of  these  corporations  have  made  contributions  this  year  to  the  Progressive  Conservative  
Party  of  Ontario  in  the  amount  of  $1,250,  the  exact  amount  of  the  price  of  access  to  Premier  Doug  
Ford’s  2019  Leader’s  Dinner:    
 
ARGO  Land  Development,  which  is  currently  registered  to  lobby  the  government  on  transit  and  zoning  
   
 
2  
issues,  and  won  the  auction  for  the  Lakeview  Generating  Station  lands,  had  four  senior  employees  with  
names  matching  those  donating  that  amount:  
• Babete  Buck,  Controller    
• Gordon  Buck,  Principal  
• Dino  Ferri,  Development  &  Financing  Manager  
• Fabio  Mazzocco,  President  
 
PACE  Securities  Corporation  is  a  subsidiary  of  Pace  Credit  Union,  which  was  placed  under  
administration  by  the  Deposit  Insurance  Corporation  of  Ontario  (DICO)  in  2018.  Six  employees  have  
names  matching  those  who  donated  the  ticket  price:  
 
• Joseph  Thompson,  President  
• Pasquale  Cilla,  Investor  Advisor3  
• Alexander  McIlmoyle,  Employee  
• Thomas  Moxam,  Financial  Advisor4  
• Joana  Nims,  Associate  
• Gyulmet  Ramazanov,  Investment  Advisor  
 
Times  Group  Corporation,  a  property  developer  with  projects  throughout  the  GTA,  including  a  
contentious  development  at  1951  Yonge  St.  in  Toronto,  had  four  employees  with  names  matching  
those  donating  $1,250:  
• Saeid  Aghaei,  Partner5  
• Hamid  Ghadaki,  Senior  Project  Manager6    
• Hashem  Ghadaki,  President7    
• Hessam  Ghadaki,  Development  Counsel8    
 
Greenwin  Incorporated  is  a  land  developer  with  four  employees  with  names  matching  those  donating  
$1,250:    
• Kristina  Boyce,  Chief  Executive  Officer9  
• Ron  Eilath,  Chief  Financial  Officer10  
• Patrick  Eratostene,  Chief  Operating  Officer11  

                                                                                                           
3
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-­‐cilla-­‐cfp%C2%AE-­‐ba-­‐77a16734/?originalSubdomain=ca    
4
 https://www.zoominfo.com/pic/pace-­‐securities-­‐corp/356680642    
5
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/saeid-­‐aghaei-­‐33690b9/?originalSubdomain=ca    
6
 https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Hamid-­‐Ghadaki/2021014904  
7
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=139828950&privcapId=113815847&previous
CapId=113815847&previousTitle=The%20Times%20Group%20Corp.    
8
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/hessam-­‐ghadaki-­‐50a1a276/?originalSubdomain=ca    
9
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-­‐boyce-­‐17314a64/  
10
 https://www.greenwin.ca/news/greenwin-­‐inc-­‐announces-­‐new-­‐chief-­‐financial-­‐officer    
11
 https://www.newswire.ca/news-­‐releases/greenwin-­‐names-­‐patrick-­‐eratostene-­‐chief-­‐operating-­‐officer-­‐681367441.html  
   
 
3  
 • Jess  Faigal,  Vice  President  
 
Rice  Group  is  also  a  land  and  property  developer  who  had  four  employees  on  the  list  whose  names  
match  donors  of  the  exact  ticket  price  of  $1,250:  
• Michael  Rice,  President  and  CEO    
• Erin  Lindsay,  Senior  Manager,  Administration  12  
• Michael  Mendes,  Senior  Development  Manager13  
• Laura  Rice,  Property  and  Asset  Manager14  
 
These  donors  are  drawn  from  the  data  currently  available  through  Elections  Ontario.  However,  media  
reports  indicate  that  there  are  other  donations  yet  to  be  disclosed.  Reports  from  the  evening  indicate  
that  several  attendees  were  attending  the  event  to  pursue  business  interests.  For  example,  CBC  
reporter  Mike  Crawley  reported  that  unregistered  lobbyists  attended  the  February  27  event  specifically  
to  discuss  possible  changes  to  government  policy.15  
 
It  should  be  noted  that  pursuant  to  changes  newly  adapted  to  the  Act,  individuals  are  no  longer  
required  to  provide  a  signature  that  confirms  they  are  contributing  with  their  own  money.  In  light  of  
these  changes,  we  are  asking  that  you  conduct  interviews  with  as  many  of  these  individuals  as  possible  
in  order  to  determine  if  this  is  indeed  the  case  or  if  they  were  re-­‐imbursed  in  any  way.  
 
Bill  85,  Election  Fundraising  Transparency  Act,  2019  
 
As  you  are  aware,  on  March  20  Liberal  MPP  Nathalie  Des  Rosiers  tabled  a  private  member’s  bill  entitled  
Election  Fundraising  Transparency  Act,  2019.  The  purpose  of  this  legislation  is:  
 
to  prohibit  persons  from  knowingly  accepting  or  receiving  reimbursement  from  a  third  party  in  respect  
of  contributions  to  certain  political  entities.  Persons  who  make  certain  political  contributions  are  
required  to  certify  that  they  have  not  acted  contrary  to  subsection  19  (1)  of  the  Act  and  will  not  be  
reimbursed  by  a  third  party  for  their  contribution.  
 
MPP  Des  Rosiers  has  stated  publically  that  her  motivations  were  to  close  loopholes  that  allow  for  
“corporate  donors  to  make  back-­‐channel  contributions  to  [the  Premier’s]  re-­‐election  campaign”16.  This  
is  a  timely  development,  and  only  serves  to  underscore  the  need  for  a  full  audit.    
 
Leader  of  the  Ontario  Green  Party,  MPP  Mike  Schreiner’s  opinion  article  entitled  “Big  money  needs  
to  get  out  of  politics”    

                                                                                                           
12
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-­‐lindsay-­‐fehr-­‐40406160/    
13
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-­‐mendes-­‐56822730/?originalSubdomain=ca    
14
 https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-­‐rice-­‐9b23626b/    
15
 https://twitter.com/CBCQueensPark/status/1101477164497551360    
16
 https://twitter.com/ndesrosiers/status/1108450054942142464    
   
 
4  
  
On  March  18,  MPP  and  Leader  of  the  Ontario  Green  Party  Mike  Schreiner  published  an  opinion  piece  in  
the  Guelph  Mercury  entitled  “Big  money  needs  to  get  out  of  politics”17.  In  this  article  MPP  Schreiner  
raises  concerns  about  how  the  sale  of  high-­‐priced  tickets  to  political  fundraisers  is  compromising  the  
democratic  system  here  in  Ontario.      
 
In  respect  of  the  numerous  concerns  raised  by  both  the  Government  and  the  Opposition,  as  well  as  
independent  members  of  the  House,  we  believe  that  the  only  way  to  move  forward  with  the  
transparency  that  the  people  of  Ontario  deserve  is  with  a  full  investigation  of  the  fundraising  practices  
employed  by  political  parties  in  Ontario.  Including,  but  not  limited  to,  the  New  Democratic  Party  of  
Ontario,  the  PC  Party  of  Ontario,  the  Ontario  Liberal  Party  and  the  Green  Party  of  Ontario.  
 
We  thank  you  for  considering  this  request,  and  look  forward  to  your  response.    
 
Sincerely,    
 
 
 
 
 
Honourable  Douglas  Ford                                                                                                                                        
Premier  of  Ontario    
MPP  Etobicoke  North  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Andrea  Horwath    
Leader  of  the  Official  Opposition  
MPP  Hamilton  Centre    
 
 
   
 
 
 
John  Fraser  
MPP  Ottawa  South  
                                                                                                           
17
 https://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion-­‐story/9227990-­‐big-­‐money-­‐needs-­‐to-­‐get-­‐out-­‐of-­‐politics/    
   
 
5  
Interim  Leader  of  the  Ontario  Liberal  Party  
 
 
 
Mike  Schreiner  
MPP  Guelph  
Leader  of  the  Green  Party  of  Ontario  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Randy  Hillier  
MPP  for  Lanark-­‐Frontenac-­‐Kingston  
 
 
 
 
 
Amanda  Simard  
MPP  for  Glengarry-­‐Prescott-­‐Russell  
 
 
 
 
 
Jim  Wilson  
MPP  for  Simcoe  Grey  
 
 
 
 
   
   

   
 
6  
  
 

   
 
7