Ontario Premier Doug Ford has admitted tickets to a stag and doe for his daughter’s wedding, with developers in attendance, cost $150 each.
Ford, however, did not answer questions about who sent the invitations or if he would reveal his communications with the integrity commissioner in the interests of transparency.
The $150 ticket price was first reported by Global News, when details of the stag and doe event were initially revealed.
A stag and doe is generally a pre-wedding event where games, raffles and other activities are used to fundraise and help pay for a couple’s wedding. Common activities to raise money include entry tickets, raffles and even auction events.
Ford previously confirmed, through the integrity commissioner that developers — described as “personal friends” — were invited, and attended, his daughter’s stag and doe.
Ford was cleared by Ontario’s integrity commissioner based on the details shared by the premier. He contacted the integrity commissioner’s office in late-January, several months after the stag and doe that took place on Aug. 11, 2022.
“In my opinion, it’s absolutely ridiculous about a $150 stag. You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ford said Friday at a funding announcement for auto parts maker Magna in Brampton, Ont.
Multiple people who say they received direct invitations, raised concerns with Global News about the gathering and shared their discomfort with being invited and the overall optics of the event.
Sources told Global News that invitees were “browbeaten” into buying tickets, while large and small lobby and government relations firms were asked to purchase tickets at $150 each, which meant they were eligible for a number of door prizes, including a Vespa scooter.
Asked about how much money came from developers and who benefited, Ford said that “the boys took care of that.
He highlighted, as he did when he was first asked about the event on Friday, that thousands of people attend his family home and that there is an open-door policy.
Ford said his family had been in politics for years, adding “no one can influence the Fords.” He repeatedly told reporters the event was a family private family matter.
The integrity commissioner said he did not believe Ford had broken any rules by hosting the stag and doe because government policy was not discussed.
“The premier had no knowledge of gifts given to his daughter and son-in-law,” the commissioner previously said. “And that there was no discussion of government business.”
The Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles, however, said she felt more questions still need to be answered.
“I’m certainly hearing it from lots of Ontarians who are wondering what happened here and whether any issues were discussed in these events,” she told Global News.
She said she planned to put together a complaint asking Ontario’s integrity commissioner to investigate both the stag and doe event and the wedding itself.
The integrity commissioner accepted a request from Stiles last month to investigate housing minister Steve Clark and the decision to open parts of Ontario’s Greenbelt for development. The complaint asked the integrity commissioner to look into whether Clark broke conflict of interest and insider information rules, something he denies.