Mayor Rob Ford is defending his brother’s Port Lands vision, admitting the venture could bring more money into the cash-strapped city than the original plan endorsed by council last year.

“You don’t get jobs having 400 acres of parkland. Parks are beautiful. We have tons of parks, but unfortunately, that tree can’t employ anybody,” said Ford, pointing to a wooded area in Colonel Danforth Park Thursday evening.

Ford said the city could use more development projects like the proposed mega-mall, ferris wheel and monorail along Toronto’s eastern waterfront as a way to generate revenue.

“As a businessman, I have the experience of creating jobs, meeting payrolls, and I understand how the real world works, the business world,” Ford said.

His comments came after Westfield Group, an Australian shopping centre developer, admitted to “preliminary” and “exploratory” meetings with city officials to discuss building in the Port Lands, without registering as a lobbyist.

In a statement released from Westfield’s Los Angeles office, the company said it “has made no decision whether it will or will not participate in any RFP (request for proposal) for the development of the site.”

Westfield is in the process of following the city’s registration requirements under the lobbyist registration law, the statement said.

The statement follows a complaint lodged Tuesday with the city’s lobbyist registrar, Linda Gehrke, by resident Paul Magder, urging a full investigation into the possibility of a “secret backroom dealing.”

Magder noted stories in the Star and other papers quoting Councillor Doug Ford as saying Westfield is “more than interested” in building a mall in Toronto.

It’s unclear if Westfield had discussions with the councillor or if he learned of the developer’s interest through Toronto Port Lands Company. The city agency on Tuesday presented executive committee with a “high level visioning” of an eastern waterfront. It includes shopping but consulting architect, London, U.K.-based Eric Kuhne, rejected the term “mall” in favour of “town centre.”

The online lobbyist registry was created in response to the MFP computer leasing scandal that revealed how lobbyists had wined and dined senior staff and some politicians to help win contracts. A separate code of conduct for councillors says they “should not engage knowingly in communications” with anyone who should be registered as a lobbyist but isn’t.

Earlier this week, city integrity commissioner Janet Leiper would not say if any city officials are being investigated in connection with Port Lands lobbying,

If she did find wrongdoing through an investigation, it would be reported to council, Leiper said.