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This direction comes in a recent decision by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC), which ruled in favour of an appeal by the pc28����Star regarding access to Greenbelt-related emails sent to or from Amato’s personal Gmail account in the fall of 2022, when he was chief of staff to former housing minister Steve Clark.

Amato and Clark resigned the following year in the wake of scathing reports by the Auditor General and Integrity Commissioner. Both reports condemned the province’s plans to open the Greenbelt for housing development as a haphazard process that favoured a small group of developers with access to the government.

After the reports and amid mounting criticism, Premier Doug Ford apologized and canceled the proposed changes. His government’s handling of the matter remains under RCMP investigation.

In her report, former auditor general Bonnie Lysyk denounced political staffers’ use of personal emails to conduct Greenbelt business, writing it “creates the perception of preferential access.”

In August 2023, the Star filed a freedom of information (FOI) request for Amato’s personal emails related to the Greenbelt.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing responded by providing the Star with emails Amato had forwarded from his personal to his government account, saying they were the only records within their control. The Star then appealed to the IPC.

Amato, who did not respond to questions for this story, used his personal email in at least three interactions with lobbyists or a fellow government staffer regarding changes to the Greenbelt. These emails are only known about because they were forwarded to Amato’s or another political staffer’s government account. It’s not known how many other times Amato used his personal email to discuss Greenbelt matters.

Lawyers for Amato provided a brief submission to the IPC in response to the Star’s appeal, describing the Star’s contention that additional records exist as “merely speculation.”

Ruling in the Star’s favour, IPC adjudicator Katherine Ball ordered the ministry to “assert control” over Amato’s Greenbelt-related personal emails and direct him to provide any such emails.

Ball wrote that she was “not persuaded” by the ministry’s arguments that there is little it can do to compel former employees to cooperate with records requests.

“I do not agree with the ministry’s submission that [Amato’s] refusal to produce records, coupled with the ministry’s purported inability to compel production, lead to the conclusion that a senior official at the ministry could not reasonably expect to obtain copies upon request.”

Ball wrote that the ministry is ultimately responsible for ensuring employees comply with government rules and procedures around record retention and the use of personal email to conduct government business.

In its submissions to the IPC, the ministry said it had asked Amato for any Greenbelt-related emails in his personal account and that he had twice refused. However, Ball noted that in its correspondence with Amato the ministry did not “expressly assert its control” over his personal emails related to government business.

Ball found that Amato provided “no cogent explanation for not cooperating with the ministry’s request.” She wrote that Amato had also declined to assist her. In her decision, she pointedly warned that it’s within the IPC’s power to “summon and examine on oath any individual who may have information relating to an inquiry.”

A ministry spokesperson said they would comply with the adjudicator’s order and write to Amato to pursue “any emails relevant to this matter.”

The ministry must send this written direction to Amato by May 21. Amato would then have until June 11 to provide either the emails or an affidavit attesting that none exist.