By Gazette Staff
October 20th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The 124 MPP’s return to their seats today after a lengthy summer recess. They will be out again for the Christmas Holiday.
They are going to be busy, and it is expected to be a very raucous session
Our source at Queen’s Park got a sneak peek at the next episode of the Mr. X Files, which airs later this morning, and it’s another doozy. John William Mutton is a consultant and former municipal politician. He served as Mayor of Clarington from 2000 to 2006 and was identified in 2023 as “Mr. X” in Ontario’s Greenbelt scandal, which led to a two‑year lobbying ban issued in 2025.
Mr X points out that just last week, David Piccini’s mother-in-law, DALE CHIPMAN was reappointed to the Ontario Land Tribunal for another four years. For Mutton, that’s a little too close for comfort.
In his own words: “I find it so difficult to understand how he can sign off on his own mother-in-law getting an appointment, and in this case, a reappointment.”
Caveats: Chipman (whose daughter FAITH, Piccini’s wife, also happens to be a provincial lobbyist) has earned her own cred — “20 years of experience in municipal and provincial administration,” according to her bio.
It isn’t clear whether Piccini recused himself from the cabinet-decision-making table.
Why it matters: Still, it’s not a great look or timing for the Minister while he’s facing accusations of cozying up to lobbyists whose clients scored millions from the SDF.
For now, DOUG FORD is standing by Piccini, simply telling the Star “yes,” the embattled minister has the Premier’s backing.
This government doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble.
However, the polls indicate that the Ford government would be returned to office if the election ere held tomorrow.
POLL WATCH I: A fresh Liaison Strategies survey shows DOUG FORD’s PCs holding a commanding 14-point lead over the Liberals (47–33), with the NDP trailing at 15 per cent — numbers that would easily translate into another PC majority. But the Premier’s speed-camera ban isn’t landing well: nearly half of Ontarians disapprove.
— POLL WATCH II: Meanwhile, “a new poll suggests Ontario’s Liberal leadership race is wide open, but one political outsider is already standing out. The survey conducted by Relay Strategies and shared exclusively with CTV News found that Dr. ANDREW BOOZARY, a Toronto physician and policy expert, is the only contender who could defeat Premier DOUG FORD in a head-to-head matchup
