Integrity commissioner bans 'Mr. X' from lobbying for 2 years over Greenbelt scandal

Ontario's integrity commissioner has banned a former mayor wrapped up in the Greenbelt land-swap probe from lobbying for two years.

The Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario wrote Thursday that John Mutton, the former mayor of Clarington, failed to comply with the Lobbyists Registration Act on numerous occasions.

Mutton's actions "undermine the Act’s purpose of transparency and public confidence in the independence of public sector decision making," reads a published notice on the integrity commissioner's website.

Mutton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When asked Thursday morning about the findings, Premier Doug Ford said he hadn't seen them yet but added he has a clear message for anyone lobbying the government.

"Follow the rules," he said. "If you don't follow the rules, you deserve a punishment. Simple as that."

Former integrity commissioner J. David Wake called Mutton "Mr. X" in his probe of the Greenbelt land swap, in which he found the province favoured certain developers over others.

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Wake said in 2023 that Mr. X didn't register to lobby the government on the Greenbelt, yet was pushing former housing minister Steve Clark's office to remove a client's land from the protected area so it could be developed.