Tories blast critics over use of lobbyists
Under fire after the Star revealed the Progressive Conservatives are enlisting lobbyists to sell $1,250 tickets to Premier Doug Ford’s fundraiser, the governing party is lashing out at the media and the opposition.
In an email appeal for campaign contributions sent Tuesday, Tony Miele, chair of the PC Ontario Fund, urged donors to rally behind the premier, who unseated Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals last June.
“We have one shot. After 15 years of Liberal waste, we need to fix this province,” Miele wrote.
“The opposition is crying foul. The media is crying foul … they don’t understand how Doug Ford can be so popular.”
Miele notes that “on Wednesday, we’re going to raise more money in a single day than any party has before” at a Toronto Congress Centre event that should bring in at least $2 million to PC coffers.
In an unusual move for such large events, the fundraiser has been closed to the media, although Ford’s speech will be available on a live stream.
The Conservatives have been scrambling to do damage control since it emerged last Thurs- day that they appealed to lobbyists for help, due to restrictions around fundraising introduced in 2016 by the Liberals.
A ban on corporate and union donations — sparked by a Star probe of Liberal fundraising excesses — has made it more challenging to sell tickets.
In the past, companies and unions could buy entire tables for dinners and then distribute the tickets to employees, associates, clients or members. Each ticket must now be paid for by an individual.
In an email appeal to clients obtained by the Star, Chris Benedetti, a principal at Sussex Strategy Group, a firm run by Conservatives and Liberals, said it “has been asked to help with the event.”
“The event is $12,500 for a table of 10 ($1,250/person). To reserve a table, please let us know, and we can assist you in assembling individual registrations to then be sent in as a package,” he wrote.
Benedetti, a registered lobbyist, said he was contacted last month by the party — not Ford’s office. New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak (Essex) said “it’s becoming more and more clear how things work under this Ford government.”