Investigation finds unreported lobbying on playground plan

The city’s integrity commissioner found unreported lobbying on the controversial Mooney’s Bay playground project, but no one will be punished over it.

In a report published Friday, Robert Marleau says Sinking Ship Productions’ email to the head of parks and recreation last Jan. 5 wasn’t just mere information gathering. It “was squarely into the realm of proposing a partnership,” Marleau says.

The production company and the city are working together to build a playground at Mooney’s Bay park for a TV show called Giver. While the TV show is for TV Ontario, the playground projects serve Sinking Ship’s business interests, Marleau notes.

Marleau, who launched the investigation after a complaint from the public, leafed through the correspondence leading up to the public announcement of the project on May 13.

Sinking Ship didn’t know the city had a lobbying registry and no one from the city mentioned it, Marleau learned.

The city’s lobbyist rules require anyone lobbying city officials to record the lobbying activity within 15 business days. City staff are compelled to make sure the lobbying is recorded in the registry. There was no lobbying recorded in the registry by Sinking Ship and city staff didn’t check, Marleau says.

The production company won’t be punished and the lobbying events will be plugged into the registry.

Marleau says he told the production company and city staff that lobbyists can ask him for a “confidentiality code” in cases where there’s a business risk in being transparent about the lobbying.

Marleau, who’s also the city’s lobbyist registrar, says he’ll ask for a change to the lobbying bylaw to make sure city staff inform lobbyists about the rules.

In a memo to council, city manager Steve Kanellakos said “staff should have informed Sinking Ship to register with the lobbyist registry” and he has asked the city clerk and solicitor to help make sure there’s a “consistent application” of the lobbyist rules in the future.

The playground is a Canada 150th project to celebrate the country’s milestone birthday in 2017. The production company and city are splitting the $2-million cost and construction has started.

Opponents are upset that a chunk of park is being used for the playground, which will be in the shape of Canada.

The city received a petition with the names of 994 people asking to move the playground to a “better location.”

Council will receive Marleau’s report during a meeting Wednesday.