Another Ontario government appointee with reported ties to Dean French resigns

The head of a committee that helps appoint justices of the peace has resigned after reports that he has ties to the premier’s former chief of staff.

Premier Doug Ford’s office says it had been reviewing Andrew Suboch’s appointment as chair of the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee and that he has now resigned.

The Globe and Mail reports that Suboch is a long-time friend of Dean French, who abruptly left his job as Ford’s top adviser three weeks ago when it first emerged that people given lucrative foreign postings were connected to him.

When contacted by The Canadian Press, Suboch would not comment on a connection to French or why he resigned.

But he did say that he applied for the appointment through a public portal that is open to all, and was never called to testify about his qualifications before a legislative committee that reviews government appointments.

Ford was asked earlier this week about the ongoing controversy around government appointments and suggested people aren’t worried about it, and reporters making inquiries just want to “get into the weeds.”