Ontario Premier Doug Ford has issued an apology after a number of cabinet and party members residing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) submitted more than $120,000 worth of hotel expenses in the city and promised all MPPs involved will reimburse the public purse.
One of those MPPs has already paid back the funds. Stan Cho announced on July 17 he had reimbursed the legislature “in full, to the penny” for the $16,203 in hotel bills he had claimed while living less than six kilometres from Queen’s Park. He also said he had decided to step down as tourism minister to acknowledge the “mistake.”
Several other GTA-area MPPs have also claimed tens of thousands of dollars since 2023 for hotel stays near Queen’s Park under the legislature’s special circumstances rule. Ford told reporters at an unrelated press conference that they would be required to repay the funds.
“We’re going to make sure that we put a microscope on this and it won’t happen again,” he said. “I apologize for it even happening in the first place. It’s very frustrating … to say the least.”
Ford did not say if the other MPPs who charged for hotels have repaid the money yet, but added that he was not pleased with the use of taxpayer dollars.
“It’s unacceptable. They’re all paying it back. Simple as that,” he said.
Public expense reports indicate three Peel Region MPPs claimed similar or higher amounts than Cho.
Brampton East MPP Hardeep Grewal, parliamentary assistant to the minister of transportation, expensed more than $27,000 in Toronto hotel stays since 2023, according to official records. Associate Minister of Small Business Nina Tangri, who represents Mississauga-Streetsville, billed nearly $19,000 and Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity Charmaine Williams, who represents Brampton Centre, submitted bills for more than $15,000.
The requests were submitted under the legislature’s special circumstances, which allows members living within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park to book a hotel if a snowstorm paralyzes traffic or there is a late-night sitting.
Some caucus members like Education Minister Paul Calandra claimed smaller amounts over the same period, while others, like Energy Minister Stephen Lecce, claimed none.
Calandra, the MPP for Markham-Stouffville, claimed nearly $3,800 and King-Vaughan MPP Lecce had no claims for city accommodations.
Cho’s Expenses Questioned
Ford was also questioned about expenses filed to Cho’s riding association during his time in office. He was first elected in 2018 and has served as associate minister of transportation, and minister of long-term before becoming tourism minister.
Riding associations are funded through private donations, fundraising events, and public subsidies determined by the number of votes cast for the party’s candidate in the most recent election.
The Ontario Liberal Party has made available the annual financial filings of Cho’s Willowdale riding association for the years 2023 through 2025. The records indicate that during that period, Cho incurred $1,500 in transportation costs from a limousine service, approximately $3,000 at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa, and more than $6,000 in expenses related to fundraising and meetings at a Japanese fusion tapas restaurant, among other expenditures.
“Given the further revelations this morning about ex-minister Cho’s lavish lifestyle, it’s hard to believe the premier is allowing him to stay in caucus,” interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said in a statement.
Cho could not be reached for comment by publication time.
Ford has said Cho did the “right thing” by stepping down from his ministerial position but would not comment during his recent press conference if he would expect other MPPs to resign from cabinet.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford needs to tell the public if Cho and other legislators who have filed “outrageous expenses” still have his confidence.
“What I don’t understand again is what kind of tone has this premier set that his ministers and MPPs think that this is an acceptable way to spend the taxpayer’s dollar,” she said at a July 20 news conference. “I would like to see some accountability, but again I expect that accountability to come right from the top.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
