TORONTO – 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 says John Mutton, the former mayor of Clarington, failed to comply with the Lobbyists Registration Act on numerous occasions.
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.
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.
The commissioner’s office says Mutton contravened the act by lobbying when payment was contingent upon success and for offering Toronto Raptors tickets and a round at a private golf course to public office holders.
Mutton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His identity was revealed in media reports after the publication of Wake’s report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2025.
