The former Ford government staffer at the centre of the Greenbelt scandal is being sued by a property developer who accuses him of promising to use his position of power to get his land rezoned.
In exchange, the lawsuit alleges, Ryan Amato and former Ford staffer Shiv Raj would be discreetly paid by the developer for their 鈥渓obbying services.鈥
Both men were working for the government at the time of the alleged agreement.
The allegations are made by Oakville property owner Amanpreet Jakhar, as well as two numbered companies that own properties in London and Grimsby.
Jakhar and the companies are suing Amato and Raj, as well as construction company Frontier Group of Companies Inc., and Frontier鈥檚 founder and vice-president, for $2.2 million, accusing all defendants of negligence, breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, conspiracy and other offences.
None of the allegations have been proven, and all of the defendants have told the court they intend to defend against the action. The lawsuit was first reported by The Trillium.
The lawsuit claims that when Ryan Amato was still working for Ontario’s housing ministry, he and another Ford government staffer told a property developer they would use their 鈥渂ackchannel contacts and political connections鈥 to secure rezoning approvals in exchange for discreetly paid fees.
LinkedIn.comJoshua Henderson, the lawyer for both Raj and Amato, said in a statement that the lawsuit 鈥渃ontains false and baseless accusations,鈥 and that both Raj and Amato 鈥渁cted in full compliance with the law and will defend any claims to the contrary in court if called upon to do so.鈥
The lawyer for Frontier Group and its executives wrote in an email that his clients were not prepared to comment. 鈥淗aving said that, do keep in mind that the allegations in the lawsuit are simply that,鈥 said Constantine Alexiou. 鈥淢y clients will vigorously defend the claim, as necessary.鈥
The lawsuit claims Amato and Raj said they would use their 鈥渂ackchannel contacts and political connections鈥 to secure rezoning approvals during a meeting in the summer of 2023.
That August,聽 Amato resigned from his post as chief of staff to former housing minister Steve Clark after an Auditor General鈥檚 report identified him as the architect of the province鈥檚 since-reversed scheme to open up parts of the Greenbelt to housing.
The initial plan, the Auditor General found, would have enriched a select group of well-connected developers by more than $8 billion. A subsequent Integrity Commissioner report concluded that Amato was 鈥渢he driving force behind a flawed process which provided an advantage to those who approached him.鈥
The RCMP has been investigating the scandal since October 2023.
Raj worked in Ford鈥檚 office from 2018 to 2023, according to , and he is currently working on Ford鈥檚 re-election campaign team.
A spokesperson for Ford鈥檚 campaign said Ford is unaware of the lawsuit and the province has no involvement in it. The spokesperson added that the Ford government has never considered any changes to the three properties in question.
Former politician denies he lobbied to get developer鈥檚 land removed from Greenbelt.
Former politician denies he lobbied to get developer鈥檚 land removed from Greenbelt.
Following an initial meeting in the summer of 2023, Jakhar and the numbered companies claim they subsequently entered into an oral agreement with Raj and Amato in which they agreed to 鈥減rovide lobbying services鈥 to obtain the rezoning approvals, and their fees would be 鈥渂aked into鈥 the fees charged by Frontier Group.
The properties, all purchased within the last six years, were bought with the intention of having them rezoned for development, according to the statement of claim. The Oakville property was to be rezoned for residential highrise units, the London property for industrial use, and the Grimsby property for commercial and residential, according to the lawsuit.
Jakhar and the companies allege that Raj, Amato and the Frontier Group鈥檚 executives said they could obtain the preferred zoning within five to eight months.
Raj and Amato, according to the lawsuit, 鈥渋ndicated that due to their 鈥榮ensitive鈥 connection to government, their fees would flow to Frontier Group 鈥 and in turn from Frontier Group to them, to make their involvement less transparent.鈥
Jakhar claims that he and the numbered companies made monthly payments to Frontier Group totalling roughly $1.5 million, but no steps were taken by the defendants towards rezoning the properties and they performed 鈥渓ittle to no work.鈥
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