Chair of Ontario judicial appointments advisory committee also lobbying government

The newly appointed chair of Ontario’s Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee is a registered provincial lobbyist, raising fresh concerns as Premier Doug Ford “triples down” on his government plans to appoint “like-minded” judges in provincial courtrooms.

Publicly available records show a second appointee, with ties to the Progressive Conservative government, also registered to lobby the Ontario government weeks after receiving the appointment from the attorney general.

The Ford government has faced political and legal blowback after the premier explicitly said he wants to introduce more “like-minded” conservative judges to the Ontario court of justice to tackle rising crime rates.

“We’re going to triple down on getting judges that believe in throwing someone in jail when they kick the doors in, put a gun to people’s heads, terrorizing their kids, terrorizing the parents to the point that the kids don’t want to stay at home anymore,” Ford said in the legislature on Tuesday.

“I’m sick and tired of judges letting these people out on bail. We’re going to hire tough judges, tough JPs (justices of the peace).”

In order to hire “tough judges,” the Ford government appointed two Progressive Conservatives to the advisory committee that makes judicial appointments, sitting alongside nine other people, including lawyers and judges.

While both those appointees served as senior staffers in the Ford government, Global News has learned both are registered to lobby the Ontario government on behalf of a variety of industries, including forestry, travel, an American gun manufacturer and a national non-profit that helps families fleeing domestic violence.

At the same time, both are being paid a small sum by the provincial advisory committee to provide advice on judicial appointments to the government.

• Brock Vandrick: In December 2023, Vandrick, who served as the premier’s former director of stakeholder relations, was appointed as a part-time member of the advisory committee — a role that comes with total pay of $8,875. Vandrick is actively registered to lobby on behalf of two organizations.

• Matthew Bondy: This month, Bondy, who served as a deputy chief of staff in the premier’s office, was appointed as the chair of the advisory committee — a role that comes with total compensation of $14,150. Bondy is actively registered to lobby on behalf of five companies in the non-profit and for-profit sectors.

Ontario’s integrity commissioner told Global News the legislation governing lobbying in the province “does not restrict an individual who meets the definition of a consultant lobbyist from serving as a provincial appointee.”

The commissioner’s interpretation of conflict-of-interest laws also seems to indicate that a lobbyist can accept a public appointment as long as they don’t lobby on the issue they’re directly advising the government on.

The Ontario NDP, however, said it had serious concerns about the revelation.

“This appears to be a major conflict of interest,” leader Marit Stiles said in a statement.

“The premier tripled down on his government’s push to politicize the judicial system and this raises serious concerns about the independence of our courts.”

Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser said the news made the ongoing controversy worse.

“I think it’s just adding another wrinkle into something that’s already a really bad idea,” Fraser said.

Fraser said the appointments of active lobbyists amount to a conflict of interest and called on the government to vacate the positions.

“The government should reverse the appointments and the premier should take back what he said.”

A government spokesperson pointed out the two provincial appointees are not lobbying the attorney general and said they had been vetted for potential conflicts.

“The appointments cleared and passed a rigorous conflict of interest screening process,” the spokesperson for the attorney general said.

“They are not registered to lobby the Attorney General.”

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