Liberal York Centre candidate Sam Nestico promised to "jail corrupt politicians" in a now-deleted social media video that took shots at his opponent, incumbent Progressive Conservative Michael Kerzner.
"Why is no one talking about Kerzner's complicity in (Doug) Ford's Greenbelt scandal?" Nestico said over a video, posted earlier this week, of Kerzner, who served as solicitor general, speaking in the Ontario legislature.
"While Ford handed out the Greenbelt to developers, Michael Kerzner stood by as solicitor general. He protected Ford. Not you," he said.
"(Liberal Leader Bonnie) Crombie and myself will restore the Greenbelt and jail corrupt politicians," he said, just before the video cut to photos of Kerzner and Ford as camera shutter sound effects played.
The Ford government reversed its Greenbelt land removal in 2023.
"Clean up Queen's Park, starting right here in York Centre," Nestico said in the video.
The PC Party did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Asked about the video, Nestico sent a statement via the Liberal campaign.
“Time and time again, the Doug Ford government has put his friends and well-connected insiders ahead of the real people of Ontario. I've taken down the video to make sure that nothing from my campaign will distract from that indisputable *fact*," he said in part.
According to LinkedIn, Nestico is the chief investment officer of the Westhaven Group, a real estate development, investment and management company in Toronto.
From 2007–2021, he was a justice of the peace with the Ontario Court of Justice, which deals with offences such as speeding tickets and municipal bylaw infractions.
Before that, he was the vice-president of finance and operations at another Toronto development company, Longo Development Corporation.
Someone with Nestico's name donated $3,350 to Crombie's Liberal leadership campaign in 2023. Together, five donations on July 21 or 22 of that year, all made by people with the last name Nestico, donated $16,750 to the campaign.
Nestico did not say whether the donations were from him and his family.
"Me and my family have been and continue to be active supporters of Bonnie Crombie," his statement said.
He also pointed to Crombie's promise to appoint a "special investigator" to probe the Greenbelt, the Therme spa project and changes that put ServiceOntario offices inside Staples and Walmart locations.
She has not promised to throw anyone in jail.
The "corruption czar" will "investigate all of Doug Ford’s giveaways that involve public money or land," Nestico said. "Ontario deserves so much better. That’s why I’m running as a candidate for Team Bonnie."
Toronto—St. Paul's candidate Stephanie Smyth re-announced the policy on Saturday, brushing off concerns about the ethics of a would-be premier hiring an investigator to conduct an inquiry into a political opponent.
"I think that it's about the taxpayer dollar. And that's what's important, is for the people to know the truth of what's happened with their money. And in this case, we know there's already a criminal investigation underway with the RCMP. So this wouldn't be new," she said.
When she first announced the policy in June, Crombie also sidestepped ethical concerns.
"It would be an outside individual who would be selected for their impartiality, and they would run with it," she said at the time.
She could also direct the RCMP to take it on, she said.
"They've already looked into the Greenbelt. It would make sense, of course, to expand the scope of their investigation," she said.
–With files from Charlie Pinkerton