EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a new Village Media website devoted to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
Ontario’s integrity commissioner is probing alleged illegal lobbying by the firm run by Premier Doug Ford’s longtime right-hand man, The Trillium can reveal.
Amin Massoudi, Ford’s principal secretary until late last summer, confirmed the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario is “looking into a matter involving” Atlas Strategic Advisors Inc., his lobbying firm. He also denied any wrongdoing.
“At Atlas, we know and obey the important rules placed on lobbyists. Any suggestion to the contrary is false,” Massoudi wrote in an email to The Trillium on Tuesday.
Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake’s office confirmed on June 2 that it had “received information about Amin Massoudi and potential non-compliance with the (Lobbyists Registration) Act.” The commissioner’s office is prevented by law from discussing much about its work before publishing any findings, so its spokesperson wouldn’t say whether or not it had launched an official investigation.
“Due to the confidentiality restrictions of the Act, no further information can be provided,” Michelle Renaud, the integrity commissioner’s spokesperson, told The Trillium.
“Based on what we believe is an untrue complaint, the Integrity Commissioner is looking into a matter involving our firm,” Massoudi wrote in response to questions sent on Monday.
Massoudi was, and is, not registered to lobby. He is the sole director of Atlas, which changed its name from Amin Massoudi Consulting Inc. on Massoudi’s final day working in the premier’s office, last Aug. 26, corporate records show.
Three registered lobbyists work for the firm.
Massoudi had been one of Ford’s closest, most loyal, and longest serving aides during their deeply intertwined political careers. The pair are still close personally; Massoudi went to Ford’s daughter’s wedding last September.
Emails The Trillium obtained from an anonymous source show they contacted the integrity commissioner’s office late last year, alleging unregistered lobbying by Massoudi and Atlas. The firm’s lone registered lobbyist at the time, Cody Mallette, had filed to work on six clients’ behalf by then.
The chain includes follow-up emails allegedly coming from the watchdog’s staff seeking additional information.
Former government employees like Massoudi are outlawed from lobbying their former bosses and office for 12 months.
One specific allegation the complainant made was that Massoudi had been lobbying for a prominent independent health-care provider involved in the provincial government’s expansion of private medical clinics. The organization and Massoudi both denied this.
Renaud wouldn’t discuss the authenticity of the emails, but those allegedly sent by an integrity commissioner’s staff member to the anonymous source match the style and substance of other emails the same staff member has sent.
While Massoudi said in his email that the integrity commissioner “is required to (look into a matter) in response to any complaint he receives,” the commissioner can in fact refuse or end a lobbying investigation “for any reason,” including if “the matter is minor or trivial.”
Ian Stedman, a York University law professor who previously worked in the Office of the Integrity Commissioner, said in an email that “it is my experience that complaints are taken pretty seriously at that Office.”
“The (integrity commissioner’s) office doesn’t take their decision to launch one lightly,” Stedman added.
In its almost 10 months operating under the Atlas moniker, Massoudi’s company has quickly become a prominent player in Ontario’s lobbying industry. Handfuls of sources currently and formerly in the government who The Trillium spoke to about the company pointed to its same main draw: its director, Massoudi, and his well-established proximity to the premier.
Massoudi worked closely by Ford’s side for more than six-and-a-half of the nine years he’s held elected office, four as a Toronto city councillor and five as Ontario’s premier. The remainder of the time includes a one-and-a-half year stint by Massoudi as director of communications to mayor Rob Ford, Doug’s brother, and the almost 10 months since last Aug. 26, Massoudi’s last day in the premier’s office.
While he was Ford’s principal secretary, Massoudi was seen as a key gatekeeper to accessing the premier, eight sources who’ve worked closely to them said. These sources were promised anonymity to protect them against reprisal.
Although many government staffers take up lobbying after leaving public service, Massoudi’s move attracted attention due to him having been Ford’s de facto No. 2 staffer — and what his role entailed.
As principal secretary, Massoudi was Ford’s most senior aide responsible for managing external stakeholder relations. Through this work, Massoudi built up a deep rolodex, which he relished in doing, according to six sources in and close to the Progressive Conservative government.
It also brought him into contact with stakeholders interested in a broad range of government business. For example, Massoudi’s official calendars from March 2022 show that within the span of one week he spoke to reps, or visited: CP Rail, Brampton’s new medical school, Honda, Alstom, and Impala Canada.
These calendars and others referred to in this story were obtained via freedom-of-information requests.
Massoudi’s calendars from his days in the premier’s office also show that some stakeholders he managed then are now Atlas clients.
One of these clients is Scale Hospitality, the owner of 17 Toronto restaurants and venues. Massoudi had a “quick chat” with Hanif Harji and Terry Tsianos of Scale Hospitality on Aug. 13, 2021, his calendars show. The Trillium has confirmed that Massoudi and the operators of Scale Hospitality are close personally and have been for a few years.
Scale Hospitality received funding through the Ministry of Labour’s Skills Development Fund (SDF) in 2021-22, a ministry document from April 2022 shows.
Scale Hospitality mostly runs upscale and boutique restaurants. It was one of Atlas’ earliest clients. Mallette registered to lobby on its behalf in late 2022. Five months later, on April 26, the Ministry of Labour announced Scale Hospitality would receive another $6 million as part of the latest round of SDF grants. A government-provided backgrounder on funding recipients says the company will support training programs and help 1,205 people in Toronto’s hospitality sector.
Under the Public Service of Ontario Act, former government staffers aren’t allowed to “advise or otherwise assist” anyone or any company outside the government “about a particular proceeding, negotiation or other transaction” that they advised the government about.
“No one at Atlas Advisors had any direct involvement with decisions around the awarding of SDF funding while in government,” Massoudi said in an email.
Another current Atlas client that appeared in Massoudi’s calendars is Cadillac Fairview. Mallette’s official calendar from the same date, Sept. 23, 2021, shows the same call. Mallette worked in the premier’s office as Massoudi’s executive assistant for over a year, including at this time.
Although this call appeared in their calendars, Massoudi said he believes the call was taken by Ford, and that it was marked in his own calendar “as an electronic ‘FYI.’”
Mallette did not respond to questions emailed to him on Monday.
Stephanie DiNucci, another Atlas lobbyist, registered to lobby for Cadillac Fairview, a $40-billion commercial real estate management company wholly owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, in April of this year. DiNucci’s registration says her goal is to advocate on Cadillac Fairview’s behalf on the planning and development of the East Harbour transit-oriented community project in downtown Toronto. Neither Massoudi nor Mallette are registered to lobby for the company.
“At no point were Cody or I involved in any direct negotiations or policy development related to the East Harbour file or other CF related decisions while in government,” Massoudi said.
Neither Scale Hospitality nor Cadillac Fairview responded to questions about their work with Atlas that were sent to them on Monday.
In an emailed statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Ford said that “as the most senior staff member responsible for managing stakeholders in the Premier’s Office, Mr. Massoudi regularly engaged with a variety of stakeholders on a number of issues. Premier’s Office staff follow all obligations as set out in legislation.”
The premier’s office did not address questions from The Trillium about Massoudi’s or Atlas’ lobbying, including if Massoudi has lobbied the office since leaving it.
The three Atlas lobbyists — Mallette, DiNucci and Michael Bonner — were registered for 22 different clients.
DiNucci joined Atlas in February. She had previously worked in policy- and stakeholder-focused roles in Housing Minister Steve Clark’s office from early in the Ford government’s first mandate until shortly before she became a lobbyist.
Bonner registered his first client with Atlas last week. Before joining the firm, Bonner worked for PC MPPs since 2016, his LinkedIn says, last working for Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Kaleed Rasheed as policy director.
Massoudi said all Atlas lobbyists “sought out” the integrity commissioner’s advice when they left government “and have maintained an ongoing dialogue with his Office as reputable lobbyists.”
He also said that Atlas lobbyists “have always co-operated (and will continue to co-operate) with the Integrity Commissioner and his team.”
“We look forward to receiving the IC’s findings and are confident that he will agree there was no breach of the rules,” Massoudi said in his email on Tuesday.