Vaughan Working Families took Elections Ontario to court over ads accusing teachers' unions of using kids as 'pawns'

TORONTO — A year-long battle between Vaughan Working Families and Elections Ontario ended up in provincial court this spring, as lawyers for the group attempted to throw out a decision that found its education ads violated Ontario election laws.

Lawyers representing Vaughan Working Families (VWF) have spent more than a year fighting Elections Ontario after four full-page newspaper ads that attacked education unions at the height of a labour dispute were found to violate the Elections Finances Act.

The advertisements, which were published in February 2020, accused teachers’ unions of treating children as “pawns” while they participated in months-long picketing and days of provincewide strikes during contract negotiations.

One of the advertisements used a file photograph of a woman holding a failing report card.

“Teachers’ Union leaders are risking student success. Children are not pawns,” one of the advertisements read, signing off with “a message from the Vaughan Working Families.”

The ads, which were placed in the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, National Post and Globe and Mail for a combined $59,800, ran at the same time as two Ottawa area byelections, leading to accusations that VWF didn’t register as a third-party advertiser before taking out the full page ads.

The ads also ignited controversy over who exactly was behind them and whether they had ties to the Progressive Conservative party.

While Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce deny any connection to Vaughan Working Families and any knowledge of the ads, members of the NDP raised objections and asked the Chief Electoral Officer to investigate -- touching off a battle between VWF and Elections Ontario that eventually wound up before a judge.

Court documents reviewed by CTV News Toronto show that the ads were placed in February 2020 by VWF, care of two groups: Etobicoke-based law firm Loopstra Nixon LLP and Vaughan-based Amendola Media.

Elections Ontario records show John Amendola, owner of Amendola Media,  made a political contribution of $907 to Lecce’s King-Vaughan riding association in 2019.

But it was Quinto Annibale – who incorporated a business called Vaughan Working Families in Apr. 2018 and is a current partner at Loopstra Nixon LLP – who became the target of complaints and the Elections Ontario investigation over his ties to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

Annibale has donated more than $31,000 to the PC party over the last six years and was appointed by the Doug Ford government as Vice-Chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) in 2019.

As it kicked off its investigation, Elections Ontario wrote to Annibale requesting detailed information about Vaughan Working Families, the newspaper advertising contracts, bank statements, and the identity of the people who financed the ads.

“Who paid for the advertisement? Where did the funds for the advertisement come from?” Elections Ontario asked.

A response arrived several days later from Gardiner Roberts LLP -- a law firm that has previously represented Premier Ford – refusing to cooperate with the investigation, claiming that the probe was based on "hearsay" not facts, and that the ads did "not fall within the definition of political advertising."

"There is no factual foundation to cause Elections Ontario to embark on what is tantamount to a wasteful fishing expedition," wrote Stephen Thiele, a lawyer for Gardiner Roberts, in an eight-page letter to Elections Ontario.

"Our client will not be providing to Elections Ontario any of the information Elections Ontario has requested and that Mr. Annibale will not be submitting to an interview by Elections Ontario."

The firm argued that since the ads only appeared in Toronto-based newspapers and weren’t placed in any Ottawa-area media outlets, VWF didn’t violate election financing laws, and insisted that the group was merely exercising a right to speak publicly.

"Elections Ontario has no right whatsoever to interfere, to muzzle our client's freedom to speak freely on public education issues.,” the firm said in an email presented as evidence in court.

Instead, lawyers for VWF suggested that Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa should have set his sights on education unions, the NDP and members of the Ontario Legislature for "blatant attack ads against the Premier of Ontario and Education Minister Stephen Lecce."

“If [NDP MPP Peter] Tabuns' allegation of links between certain individuals and the PC Party are enough to constitute "collusion" ... then similarly ETFO and OECTA and the NDP must also be investigated for "collusion"."

The complaint was investigated by Elections Ontario and ultimately rejected because of a lack of evidence to substantiate the claim.

After months of back-and-forth, Elections Ontario notified VWF that their investigation was complete and they have decided there was “an apparent contravention of section 37.5 of the Election Finances Act as Vaughan Working Families did not apply for registration as a third party when required to do so.”

The matter was referred to the Ministry of the Attorney General for further investigation. If convicted, VWK could face a maximum fine of $5,000.

Earlier this month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed they were investigating VWF. At the time, a spokesperson said that no further information can be released as the investigation is ongoing.

CTV News Toronto reached out to the RCMP Thursday, but was told there was no update on the investigation.

In an attempt to stop the process in its tracks, however, lawyers for VWF took the matter to court.

They argued that the chief electoral officer came to a “pre-determined conclusion” and Essensa’s conduct was “biased,” ”arbitrary,” and “capricious.”

A large number of files, including letters and receipts for the advertisements, were submitted to court in an attempt to quash the decision.

On March 5, the court said the application should be dismissed.

“The court essentially ruled that the application was premature,” Thiele said in a statement to CTV News Toronto Thursday.

In response to inquiries into the RCMP investigation, Thiele added that his client is “unaware of the status of any investigation, which is merely a provincial offences investigation, and maintains that at no point in time did it contravene the Election Finances Act.”

Elections Ontario has said it does not comment on matters that the chief electoral officer has referred to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

WAS THIS THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING?

In outlining their reasoning for pursuing an investigation into VWF, Elections Ontario said that “there can be no question that the advertisement took a position on an issue closely associated with the Progressive Conservative Party and its leader.”

Under the Election Finance Act (EFA), political advertising is defined as an ad published “with the purpose of promoting or opposing any registered party or its leader or the election of a registered candidate.”

It can also include advertising that takes a position on an issue “that can reasonably be regarded as closely associated” with a party or candidate.

Once a third party spends $500 on political advertising, it is required to register under the EFA. Elections Ontario argued that a nearly $60,000 ad campaign far surpasses that threshold.

Thiele, however, argues that the advertisements did not mention the names of a political party or candidate, did not promote or oppose a political party or candidate and did not run in a region where an election was being held.

“The newspaper advertisements expressed an opinion on a matter of general public importance in connection with the current labour unrest among Ontario’s public sector teacher’s unions,” Thiele outlined.

Vaughan Working Families previously registered as a third-party advertiser for both the 2014 and 2018 provincial elections, court documents confirm. Annibale was listed as a principal officer in both registrations.