QUEEN’S PARK — Taras Natyshak, the Official Opposition New Democrats’ critic for Ethics and Accountability, is calling for Ford-appointed LCBO board member Quinto Annibale to return to the Government Agencies committee for questioning following the revelation that he is one of the people behind the mysterious “Vaughan Working Families” ads that appeared in newspapers across Ontario.
“We did not get the full story when this Conservative insider appeared before committee last year,” said Natyshak. “I’m calling for Mr. Annibale to come back to the committee, and answer a new set of questions. That includes an answer to the question who is funding Vaughan Working Families and the Vaughan Health Campus of Care groups?”
In 2019, Doug Ford’s PC government appointed Annibale to the LCBO. Last week, the multiple media outlets confirmed that Annibale was a director of the shadowy front group “Vaughan Working Families.” The name “Vaughan Working Families” was registered in 2018 by an advocacy group called “Vaughan Health Campus of Care,” a group with close links to Conservatives that, at one point, received a $10-million federal grant, most of which was returned when the health care project it was meant to fund stalled.
Annibale appeared before the Standing Committee on Government Agencies last March prior to his appointment to the LCBO Board. He did not mention his involvement in Vaughan Working Families.
“If Mr. Annibale is going to sit on a public board, control public assets and collect a public paycheque, he needs to answer the public’s questions,” said Natyshak. “His group spent six-figures running attack ads against teachers using the government’s talking points, and Ontarians need to know why, if he’s going to continue to hold that public position.”
