Former Ontario integrity commissioner who wrote Greenbelt report dies

J. David Wake, former Ontario integrity commissioner, is shown in this undated photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Integrity Commissioner of Ontario (Mandatory Credit)

TORONTO — Ontario’s former integrity commissioner, who authored a lengthy report on the provincial government’s Greenbelt scandal, has died a year after retiring.

J. David Wake served as Ontario integrity commissioner from 2016 to 2025 and in that time conducted many investigations, including the consequential report on the government’s decision to remove lands from the protected Greenbelt area for housing, which led to a cabinet minister resigning.

Wake and his team spoke to 62 witnesses and reviewed more than 2,300 documents, concluding that the housing minister failed to properly oversee his top staffer, who led a “chaotic” process that created opportunities to improperly further some developers’ interests.

Wake was previously the associate chief justice of the Ontario court of justice from 1999 to 2005.

Current integrity commissioner Cathryn Motherwell says Wake’s impact on the world of Canadian public sector ethics was indelible, and he leaves behind his wife, two children and five grandchildren.

Premier Doug Ford says in a statement that he extends his condolences to Wake’s family and loved ones.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press