FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 June 2026
QUEEN’S PARK, ON — Today, Stephanie Smyth, MPP for Toronto—St. Paul’s and Ontario Liberal Critic for Ethics, Integrity, and Accountability, issued the following statement.
Doug Ford’s government is now connected to four ongoing police investigations: an RCMP investigation into the $8.3 billion Greenbelt scandal, two OPP investigations tied to the $2.5 billion Skills Development Fund scandal, and now a fourth connected to the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. Should Ontarians really be trusting this government with their money?
This audit began when the province’s own forensic investigators — a team called in only for potential fraud, conflicts of interest, or misconduct — audited the seniors’ ministry. The result is a 115-page report. The Ford government has redacted every single page.
The minister won’t say what was investigated or who. When journalists went looking for the police investigation, the OPP, Toronto, Peel, and York police all said they had nothing, raising questions.
The law does not require this secrecy. Ontario’s privacy commissioner is clear: governments must prove the risk of interfering with an investigation is real — and weigh it against the public’s right to know. Blacking out 115 pages is their choice.
This is a pattern. Doug Ford’s Conservative government has undergone 19 forensic audits since 2022 and stonewalled every request for answers about where they led. When the money goes missing, the documents go dark.
This government has a horrible track record of finding every possible way to enrich its friends and donors — and Ontarians deserve to know if that’s what happened here. This is a government filled with ministers who can’t seem to run a single program or ministry cleanly.
Ontario Liberals are calling on Doug Ford to release the forensic audit — or at the very least, give taxpayers the information they deserve about what is happening with their money.