Former Toronto mayor John Tory violated the city's code of conduct by engaging in a personal relationship with a staffer and then taking part in council votes on the FIFA World Cup after that staffer left city hall to work for a company helping to organize the event, Toronto's integrity commissioner says.

Tory began a consensual relationship with a political staffer who worked in his office – referred to in the report as "Ms. A" – in the summer of 2020 and ultimately resigned because of it almost three years later.

In a 122-page report released Thursday, Integrity Commissioner Jonathan Batty found that Tory contravened council's Code of Conduct with the relationship "as he failed to observe the terms of the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework for Members’ Staff."

The integrity commissioner also found Tory violated the code by taking part in two council votes on Toronto's FIFA World Cup bid because the former staffer had gone on to a job at a company involved in the matter. Voting on a matter that could have had a direct impact on Ms. A's employment while still in a relationship with her amounted to an improper use of influence, Batty ruled.

However he found that Tory did not violate other rules, such as the city’s Human Rights and Anti-harassment/discrimination Policy or improperly use his influence as mayor to help Ms. A while she worked in his office or afterward to get a job at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

Typically, council is able to sanction a councillor or mayor who violates the Code of Conduct by suspending their pay or formally reprimanding them.  

Since Tory is no longer a sitting member of council, Batty said, council can clearly not suspend his pay.

"While it may be within the authority of Council to reprimand a former Member, it is my view that reprimanding a person who requested I investigate their conduct as they resigned office would serve no purpose," he wrote.

Tory resigned in February after publicly admitting to the relationship. He asked the integrity commissioner to probe the matter when he resigned.

While Batty did not recommend that Tory be sanctioned, he said it was "unfortunate" that the former mayor had not sought proper advice on how to handle the relationship.

"As shown, Mr. Tory put himself in a conflict of interest when he began this relationship," Batty wrote. "Because it was not managed appropriately from the outset, it raised questions whether City resources were used inappropriately. It raised questions whether Mr. Tory improperly used his influence for the benefit of Ms. A while she was on his political staff and when she was looking for a job from the Mayor’s Office."

In a statement Thursday, the former mayor said he "fully accepts" that he could have and should have handled the matter differently.

“I sincerely regret the impact my actions had on so many people in my life and on the people of the City of Toronto who it was my honour to serve for so many years," Tory wrote. "I have tried to deal with this in an honourable manner and I am looking forward to finding new ways to contribute to the success of the city I love."

He also thanked Batty and his staff for "their professionalism and thoughtfulness throughout this process.”

Tory's resignation triggered an unprecedented byelection to choose a new mayor. The race drew over 100 candidates and ultimately ended in Olivia Chow's election to the post in June.  

Responding to the findings, Mayor Chow said public officials have a responsibility to a "higher code of conduct" and she shares some of the public sentiment about the matter.

"The people of Toronto feel let down and disappointed by the previous mayor's conduct. I share the same feeling," Chow told reporters Thursday.

She said the FIFA issue will be back before council in the coming week and further decisions "must be done in a transparent and accountable manner."

Details about the agreement for the city to host World Cup games remain confidential, but Chow vowed to ensure that "every taxpayer dollars spent on the FIFA bid will have its value."

 

TORY HIRED CRISIS MANAGER IN 2020

Batty's report includes interviews with Tory and Ms. A and traces the evolution of the relationship.

"I never felt I was in jeopardy, or things weren't okay,” Ms. A told the integrity commissioner when asked about her relationship with Tory.

The two became close through Ms. A’s work in Tory's office and on his 2018 campaign when she would help him with technology.

Ms. A met the mayor’s family and recalled that they referred to her as his “work daughter” though Tory did not recall using that term himself when he spoke with the integrity commissioner.

Tory first initiated physical contact in the summer of 2020 and "it was not unwelcome" on Ms. A's part.

But while the relationship was romantic, physical contact was limited and the two were not exclusive.

The two became close during lockdown. They would go on walks together, discuss politics and watch sports. Tory would buy her flowers, while she would pick up groceries and cook dinner.  

The report also details efforts by Tory and his wife, Barabara Hacket, to manage the situation behind the scenes long before it was disclosed to the public.

According to the report, Hacket confronted Tory about signs of a relationship in August 2020 and told him to send Ms. A an email to end it.

However Hacket discovered in September or October that the relationship had resumed.

Tory and Hacket then retained Amanda Galbraith from Navigator, a crisis management firm – more than two years before Tory admitted to the affair publicly.

Galbraith previously worked in the mayor's office as Tory's communications director.

The response included supportive "woman-to-woman" conversations between Galbraith and Ms. A, which included discussions about her career options, according to the report.

Tory told Batty that while he hired a crisis manager, he considered the affair to be a private matter at the time.

"It was a personal crisis of my family, between me and my wife. But there was no crisis. But, you know, there was a delicate situation that needed to be managed," he said.

Galbraith advised Tory to be mindful of the delicate situation, but to "otherwise have business as usual," the report says.

Tory informed his chief of staff, Luke Robertson, around the same time in a conversation Robertson recalled as short and "extremely awkward."

Robertson then took time to process the news and spoke with Galbraith, who told him that she had spoken with Ms. A.

Robertson came back to Tory a couple of days later and told him that he and Ms. A should not be alone together in meetings. However Robertson never spoke with Ms. A about her relationship with Tory and she was unaware that he knew about it until the integrity commissioner interviewed her.

Robertson said he never went to the integrity commissioner's office for fear of triggering a public inquiry and didn't inform any other city department because “there's no rule book or playbook for something like this when it happens.”

Ms. A received a salary increase and title change at the end of 2020 to improve her chances of outside employment after she left the mayor's office, but so did seven other people of the 18 who worked there, the report found, and Tory was not involved in the decision.

She ultimately left the mayor's office in April 2021 to take a job at a Toronto hospital network before moving on to a job at MLSE through connections she had made while working at the mayor's office.

The relationship continued on and off for around two years, becoming strained in November 2022, when Ms. A began a serious relationship with someone else.

It ended in 2023 after the Toronto Star became aware of the relationship.

Tory's resignation followed a short time later.