Premier Doug Ford's then chief of staff, Dean French (right), looks on while Ford speaks to the Progressive Conservative caucus on June 19, 2018. French resigned on June 21, 2019. Source: Twitter/@fordnation

The strict rules governing Ontario’s integrity commissioner mean even if Premier Doug Ford’s ex-chief of staff is investigated and found to have broken the rules, the public may never know.

Last week, Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser asked Commissioner J. David Wake to investigate the appointment scandal that led to the resignation of the premier’s chief of staff, Dean French.

French resigned on June 21 after two people with personal connections to him were given lucrative appointments, which were first exposed by the Globe and Mail and Global News.

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Since then several other hirings and appointments have been reported, many of whom were connected to French through family ties or through his work in lacrosse.

In his letter to Wake, Fraser called for an investigation into whether the appointments complied with provincial laws.

The appointments “establish a very clear pattern of nepotism in the premier’s office,” Fraser said in his letter.

The letter in part cites a regulation that says a public servant “shall not give preferential treatment to any person or entity, including a person or entity in which the public servant or a member of his or her family or a friend has an interest.”

In his response to Fraser, released by the Liberals on Thursday, Wake told Fraser that even if he does decide to investigate French, he can’t publicly announce that investigation is underway. Moreover, any findings or report would only be given to Ford.

“I am limited simply to notifying the premier regarding any determinations or directions made with respect to the matter,” Wake wrote in his letter to Fraser, which was sent on June 28.

Fraser said he doesn’t believe the law “serves the public interest,” but he acknowledged his party did nothing to change the transparency rules during its 15 years in power — which were ended by Ford and the Progressive Conservatives last year.

He said he regrets changes weren’t made when the Liberals were in power because taxpayers are “entitled” to the information.

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Fraser called on Ford to commit to releasing the report if an investigation is done into French’s personal connections to government appointees, but the premier’s office refused to make that commitment, calling the question a hypothetical.

A source in Ford’s office said they are unaware that any investigation has been launched into French.

The premier’s office has said that all appointments are being reviewed but it has refused to say who is reviewing the appointments or what criteria are being used to determine whether the appointments were appropriate.

“If anyone was appointed for the wrong reasons or is not performing to the highest standards, they will be removed from their position,” spokesperson Richard Clark said.

The government rejected an NDP request to bring back the committee that reviews government appointments during the summer break. NDP MPP Marit Stiles told reporters Thursday that she would ask the government every month to restart the committee, in order to pressure them to acquiesce or put their continued rejection on the record.

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