Council for Sale!
the vote
In April of 2021 City Council for the City of Pickering voted 5-2 against the creation of a Lobbying Registry for the City of Pickering.
Part of the Motion reads: "And Whereas, public office holders and the public should be able to know who is attempting to influence the decisions of municipal government".
Now why would a City Council vote against that? The answer WILL SHOCK YOU!
Who donates $ to city council in pickering?
Mayor Ryan
Voted NO for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $55,250
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $73,750/$55,250= 75%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities 2019 onwards: $2,797
Total Cost: $58,047.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
TACC - $7,000
Mattamy Homes - $7,000
Chestnut Hill Dev. - $4,800
Triple Group - $4,800
Paradise Dev - $4,000
Councilor Kevin Ashe
Regional Councillor Ward 1
Voted NO for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $32,350
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $34,550/$32,350= 93%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities 2019 onwards: $4,975
Total Cost: $37,325.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
Chestnut Hill Dev - $4,800
Triple Group - $4,800
TACC - $2,500
Geranium Homes - $2,200
Fieldgate - $2,000
Councilor David Pickles
Regional Councilor Ward 3
Voted NO for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $24,000
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $30,050/$24,000= 80%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities 2019 onwards: $3,150
Total Cost: $27,150.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
Triple Group - $4,800
TACC - $2,500
SCS Consulting - $2,400
Chestnut Hill Dev - $2,400
Fieldgate - $2000
Councilor Shaheen Butt
City Councilor Ward 3
Voted NO for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $20,900
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $29,000/$20,900= 72%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities: $3,865
Total Cost: $24,765.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
TACC - $2,500
Schollen & Co - $2,400
Triple Group - $2,400
Chestnut Hill Dev - $2,400
SCS Consulting - $2,400
Councilor Maurice Brenner
City Councilor Ward 1
Voted YES for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $21,650
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $21,650/$26,850= 81%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities: $2,200
Total Cost: $23,850.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
Triple Group - $4,800
TACC - $2,500
Fieldgate - $2,000
Paradise Dev - $1,500
Miller Group - $1,200
Councillor Ian Cumming
City Councillor Ward 2
Voted NO for Lobbyist Registry
Ward 2 city councillor Ian Cumming said it could push the public further away.
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $16,750
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $16,750/$17,950 = 93%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities: $1,700
Total Cost: $18,450.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
Triple Group - $4,800
TACC - $2,500
Fieldgate - $2,000
Paradise Dev - $1,500
Chestnut Hill Dev - $1,200
Councilor Bill McLean
Regional Councilor Ward 2
Voted YES for Lobbyist Registry
Donations from Development Linked Entities: $18,400
% of all 2018 Campaign Donations Linked to Development: $18,400/$22,300 = 83%
Gifts from Development Linked Entities: $0
Total Cost: $18,400.00
Top 5 Linked Donators:
TACC - $2,500
Chestnut Hill Dev - $2,400
Fieldgate - $2,000
Paradise Dev - $1,500
Madison Group - $1,200
HOW THEY VOTED - CONTINUED
Click here to read my post about the Official Plan Amendment. OPA 38 is an amendment to the Official Plan for the City of Pickering that will allow increased development along Kingston Road with multiple condo towers. The same Councilors that were against the Lobbying Registry voted in favour of developers.
Developer linked donations - chart!
But wait, there's moRE - gifts!
Did you know that City Councilors are permitted to accept gifts (tickets to Leafs games, Raptors games, charity dinners), so long as they are declared?
Guess where the majority of the value of the gifts come from?
The top three are developers!
who gets the gifts?
Councilor Ashe is 1st place gift taker, with the Mayor a close 2nd. Councilor McLean doesn't appear to be as popular.
Why does this matter? it's legal isn't it?
You're right! Individual (not corporate) donations to Councilors are totally legal.
But just like pooping on your dining table, just because something is legal doesn't mean that it's right.
Ask yourself this: if 80% of campaign donations to incumbent City Councilors come from developers who have business before Council, is the public interest really being served? In the cases of Ashe and Cumming, that percentage is 93%. Who really benefits from the donations?
What about if meetings that Councilors had with those same corporations were held in secret, and those same Councilors voted against making them public record? Is the public interest really being served then? That's why we need a Lobbying Registry in Pickering.
Here's How A Lack of Transparency and Donations from Developers Gets a Bit Messy:
Durham Live Ministerial zoning order
That project is headed by the Triple Group of Companies, the company behind the Durham Live Casino project, whose linked entities donated $26,400 to City Councilors for the 2018 election - the most by any company.
This isn't the only MZO requested by Pickering that would benefit one of Council's largest donors.
How did those public buildings get their names?
Have you ever wondered how or why the Pickering Recreation Complex was renamed the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation whatever?
Did you know that Triple Properties is paying the City $10 million - the largest naming agreement of its kind in Canada for a public building - to have naming rights over the yet to be built Pickering Central Public Library? Maybe the library can have a kids corner with information on Casinos and how to build a housing developments.
I don't trust strangers on the internet. where can i see the data for myself?
All data analyzed was taken from various City of Pickering websites.
2018 Election Financial Statements: https://www.pickering.ca/en/city-hall/candidate-financial-statements.aspx
Council Member Disclosure Statements (Gifts) 2019 onward: https://www.pickering.ca/en/city-hall/IntegrityCommissioner.aspx
If you want to search City of Pickering public records including meeting minutes and agendas, the City actually has a fantastic feature (props to the Clerks Office, or whoever runs it). https://corporate.pickering.ca/WebLink/Welcome.aspx Go ahead a type a donor's name or a company name into the search feature and see what you get.
If you want the source data sheet that was manually extracted from the pdf files, you can CLICK HERE
Where a link couldn't be determined, donors were designated with a (?) in the source file. Where it appeared after searching City records and OSINT that a donor was just a local business or resident otherwise just donating to a Councilor and had no development interests, they were designated as "No". This list could be wrong: happy to correct it if someone sees something amiss.