Controversy is swirling around Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott over a series of text messages she exchanged with a lobbyist that Ontario’s former integrity commissioner found guilty of breaching the Lobbyist Registration Act.
The text messages, which Scott gave to the late J. David Wake as part of his investigation into Mr. X, now identified as John Mutton, only came to light recently after Mutton made the 132page integrity commissioner’s report, released Jan. 29, 2025, available to The Trillium, a publication that covers Queen’s Park news.
Mutton is a former mayor of Clarington.
According to the report, which The Trillium made public, the integrity commissioner found Scott and Mutton “clearly communicated in an effort to move forward the provincial decision to make an MZO (minister’s zoning order).” MZOs allow a provincial minister in Ontario to unilaterally regulate the use of land, buildings and structures anywhere in the province.
The report outlines how Mutton contacted Scott with regards to an MZO for Kawartha Downs in her riding, and on Brown’s Line in Cavan Monaghan. Scott handed over texts from Dec. 20, 2021 to July 7, 2023, the report said.
One of the exchanges came Jan. 9, 2023, when it appeared the MZO for Brown’s Line was going ahead.
Mutton texted, “can you ask Ryan what day this week he is passing the MZO. Also the Premier has asked me to co chair his dinner for March. I believe that is a show of trust from him.”
No formal rulings on Scott’s conduct
Scott replied, “MMAH [Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing] has signed off at PO [Premier’s Office] I am told.”
Mutton responded, “Woo hoo…that’s great. Thank you. I owe you a good lunch… when will we see confirmation?”
Scott replied, “They are on it I am told” to which Mutton replied, “awesome.”
Further in that exchange, Mutton wrote “let me know when you want to do another fundraiser this year too.” Scott replied, “I was trying to do first of March time for funder but the party is having a huge one then. So I will have to plot for after. Don’t use all the money up.” Mutton responded, “Don’t worry. I will save enough haha.”
After passage of the MZO, Scott texted Mutton Feb. 2, 2023, to ask, “do you think you could get a couple of your people especially the ones we just helped to buy a few tickets for March 2nd event. They have to go thru my portal so I get credit.”
The commissioner found Mutton guilty of a dozen breaches of the Lobbyist Registration Act. He further wrote that Mutton contravened the law by placing Scott “in a position of potential conflict of interest.”
In his report, the commissioner did not make any formal rulings about Scott’s conduct or that of any other government officials mentioned in the report, as that was not the point of the investigation. The commissioner also didn’t make any definitive determinations about whether Scott played a meaningful part in either MZO getting approved.
Scott issued the same statement to The Highlander Nov. 3, that she had issued to The Trillium.
“My office received an MZO request that had endorsement from the municipality. The MZO followed the process established by MMAH [Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing] and was subsequently approved. All information on donations and donors is publicly available.”
