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Stan Cho, left, speaks to media alongside Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the construction site of the future Ontario Place and science centre in Toronto, on Feb. 26. Cho was promoted to parliamentary assistant on Friday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has promoted a former Toronto cabinet minister who resigned this summer after billing thousands in local hotel stays, prompting outcry from opposition parties who accused the government of a lack of accountability.
Mr. Ford on Thursday named Toronto MPP Stan Cho as the new parliamentary assistant to Education Minister Paul Calandra. The roles are assigned by the premier to help cabinet ministers, and come with a $22,500 pay bump on top of an MPP’s $157,350 salary. Parliamentary assistants also often address questions in the legislature about their ministries when cabinet ministers are absent.
The offices of Mr. Cho and Mr. Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday about the MPP’s new role. Nor did Mr. Calandra’s office.
Mr. Cho resigned as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming on July 17 after it was revealed he spent more than $16,000 on hotels in the past three years, despite representing a Toronto riding not far from the Ontario legislature.
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At the time, Mr. Ford called the expenses “totally unacceptable,” and said Mr. Cho has taken responsibility for his mistake. Mr. Cho, who remained a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus, said at the time he had repaid the money. He said he billed for the stays when the legislature sat late, but did “not stop to ask how it would look to a person in my riding working a double shift.”
Mr. Cho and more than a dozen others in the caucus – including others in cabinet – charged a total of more than $120,000 since 2023 on hotels, according to public disclosure documents. The opposition has accused the government members of entitlement and frivolous spending, alleging that they abused the rules.
The hotel stays were filed under “special circumstances” expenses that allow members of the legislature who live within 50 kilometres of Queen’s Park to charge for hotels under exceptional circumstances, such as snowstorms or night sittings.
Mr. Ford has previously said the hotel expenses of other top spenders in his caucus would also be repaid in full.
The Premier’s decision to give Mr. Cho more responsibility and a raise did not sit well with Ontario’s opposition parties. The legislature is set to return Tuesday after an extended 21-week break, which the government said was necessary to not interfere in Monday’s municipal elections but was decried as undemocratic by the opposition.
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Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles on Friday called on Mr. Ford to fire Mr. Cho – not to give him a raise.
“Stan Cho spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on luxury Toronto hotels despite living fifteen minutes from Queen’s Park. Instead of holding him accountable, Doug Ford gave him a $22,500 pay bump with the people’s hard-earned tax dollars,” Ms. Stiles said in a statement.
“While the people of Ontario are putting groceries back on the shelves, spending hours in hospital waiting rooms, and sending their kids to overcrowded classrooms, Doug Ford is giving his MPPs a blank cheque to party on the taxpayer dime.”
Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser also criticized the promotion.
“Stan Cho billed taxpayers more than $16,000 for hotel stays just a few subway stops from home. When he got caught, he paid it back, and three months later Doug Ford paid him back with a raise,” he said in a statement.
“There is no accountability in this government, because no matter how badly a minister screws up, the Premier always takes care of his friends.”
Mr. Fraser also noted that the number of parliamentary assistants has grown. According to publicly available lists, all but two of the 79 PC MPPs have either a cabinet or parliamentary assistant role.