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Massoudi, a key adviser described by Ford as “like family” when he left Queen’s Park three years ago, did not comply with the Lobbyists Registration Act “by failing to file a registration after lobbying a public office-holder about his client’s request during a telephone call” in 2023.

Motherwell said the premier’s former principal secretary had “knowingly (placed) that person in a position of potential conflict of interest during that communication, because Mr. Massoudi had offered that same public office-holder a ticket to a pc28¹ÙÍøRaptors basketball game the previous day.”

“Mr. Massoudi’s failure to register and offer of a gift undermines the act’s purpose of transparency and public confidence in the independence of public sector decision-making,” she wrote in a ruling issued Thursday.

“The Lobbyist Registrar directed that his name be published with a brief description of the non-compliance.”

In a statement to the Star, Massoudi said “this matter relates to a phone call with a mid-level staff member in a minister’s office in January 2023.”

“During that conversation, a topic related to an economic development file came up. I immediately informed the staff member that I was not registered on the file and indicated that a colleague, who was appropriately registered, would follow up. At the time, I believed this to be the appropriate way to handle the situation,” he said.

“This experience has been an invaluable learning opportunity. I take compliance with all relevant legislation extremely seriously,” said Massoudi.

“Over the last two years, I have taken concrete steps to strengthen internal compliance protocols and ensure nothing like this happens again. These steps include holding regular compliance meetings, maintaining ongoing dialogue with the office of the integrity commissioner, and retaining external legal counsel to advise on and support a rigorous compliance framework.”

Motherwell’s ruling did not name the cabinet minister in question.

Contacted by the Star, Ford’s office said “we have not been engaged in this matter and have no details beyond what the integrity commissioner has reported.”

“We expect that anyone engaging with or advocating to the government complies with all rules and regulations as set out in legislation,” the premier’s office said in a statement.

In March, another former Ford aide, Nico Fidani-Diker, was also sanctioned by the integrity commissioner while lobbying to get a client’s land removed from the Greenbelt.

Last month, John Mutton, a former mayor of Clarington who gained notoriety when the integrity commissioner dubbed him “Mr. X” in a 2023 report on the Greenbelt land swap scandal, was banned from lobbying government for two years.

The RCMP has been investigating the $8.28-billion Greenbelt debacle since October 2023.

Ford initially opened up 7,400 acres of environmentally sensitive Greater pc28¹ÙÍøand Hamilton Area land for housing construction in fall 2022, but retreated a year later after separate reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner found developers with links to the Progressive Conservatives had been “favoured” when the properties were rezoned.

A joint Star and Narwhal investigation in November 2022 found a majority of the Greenbelt areas slated for redevelopment had been bought up by developers when the land was still protected. 

Of the 15 parcels of land that were initially opened up, eight were purchased in the four years after Ford’s 2018 election.

In the integrity commissioner’s report on the affair two years ago, questions were raised about a January 2020 Vegas jaunt with Massoudi, Rehmatullah, Rasheed and former Ford aide Jae Truesdell.

On May 6, Motherwell ended an investigation into Rasheed for the trip, advising the former MPP “that the matter was closed.”