TRILLIUM TALK: Big scandal in a small town

Welcome back to Trillium Talk, your must-see briefing from Village Media’s team of journalists at the Ontario Legislature.

Every Sunday, Scott Sexsmith sits down with one of our staffers at The Trilliumto talk about the week that was at Queen’s Park — and the week ahead.

On today’s episode is reporter Charlie Pinkerton, who made some big headlines of his own this week. He was part of a team of journalists from The Toronto Star and The Narwhal who won this year’s esteemed Michener Award for public service journalismfor their dogged reporting on the Greenbelt scandal.

It was Pinkerton who first revealed that wealthy developers who benefited from Ford government zoning decisions, including the Greenbelt land swap, had attended the Premier’s daughter’s wedding. For those who may not know, it was also that story that led to thelaunch of The Trillium. (You can learn all about that HERE.)

This week, Pinkerton has been digging deeper into what happened in small-town Brighton, Ont., where councillors openly admitted they were hiring a well-connected lobbying firm to “work the backroom” of the Ford government in the hopes of landing some badly needed infrastructure funding.

The story sparked quite a controversy at Queen’s Park, where opposition MPPs delighted in the idea that town councillors believed they needed to hire a friend of the premier to get something done.Newly released documentsobtained by Pinkerton via a Freedom of Information request, shed even more light on how everything unfolded.

You can read all about it HERE.

Looking for back episodes of Trillium Talk? You can find them allHERE.

Launched last year byVillage Mediawhich operates this community website,The Trilliumis a comprehensive news and information source devoted exclusively to insider coverage of Ontario politics.

Passionate and plugged in,The Trilliumdelivers the major political headlines of the day while unpacking complex policy changes and digging deeper into key issues that impact every Ontarian. Our dogged journalists also keep a close watch on legislative debates, question period, public appointments, lobbying activity and regulatory proposals.

The Trilliumis a subscription-based news service designed especially for Queen’s Park stakeholders, such as public servants, political staffers, business leaders, lobbyists and strategists. But the site also features free content that is regularly published across our chain of local news sites.

ClickHEREto sign up for the site’s free afternoon email newsletter, The Trillium Wrap. Subscription information can be foundHERE.