Thread by @TorontoStar

EXCLUSIVE: Throughout COVID-19, the Ontario government often made decisions that went against expert medical advice. Who else had Ford's ear? A Star analysis found that behind closed doors, business interests were lobbying the government through the crisis thestar.com/business/2021/…

Why could Ontario's big box outlets stay fully open while small businesses closed? Why did construction continue almost right through the pandemic? In this three-part series, #HiddenInfluence, the Star looks at which lobbyists may have swayed the PC party thestar.com/business/2021/…

At pivotal points during the pandemic, the Ford government made decisions that aligned with the interests of lobbyists with close ties to the party. Who were they and who did they represent?

Try our interactive tool here: thestar.com/business/2021/…

An interactive look: Lobbyists with close ties to Doug Ford and the PC Party have been exceptionally busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can use our interactive tool and hover over the names to see what they lobbied for:
thestar.com/business/2021/…

Over the past 15 months, the correlation between what lobbyists have asked for and what the government has done have often been striking. See an interactive timeline here: thestar.com/business/2021/…

Part 2 #HiddenInfluence: At the urging of conservative lobbyists, Ontario signed an $80-million deal to buy COVID tests that hadn’t been approved or independently validated. How Ontario taxpayers likely lost $10 million on COVID tests they’ll never see
thestar.com/business/2021/…

“It shows that the Ford government decision-making process is open to hearing from Ontarians, as long as they hire one of these lobbyists,” Duff Conacher, of Democracy Watch says. Now the company, Spartan Bioscience, has filed for creditor protection
thestar.com/business/2021/…

Part 3: #HiddenInfluence: Long-term-care homes were the epicentre of the COVID pandemic. So how did Ontario’s LTCs manage to secure almost every one of their business goals during the pandemic? thestar.com/business/2021/…

Due to that lobbying, critics say LTCs have largely been able to dodge responsibility for the death and suffering at their homes. They’ve also been able, some analysts say, to set themselves up — with government support — for decades of future profits thestar.com/business/2021/…

#HiddenInfluence: Several of Doug Ford’s key pandemic decisions were swayed by business interests, Star analysis suggests.

A three-part series by @richardwarnica thestar.com/business/2021/…