Integrity commissioner asked to probe ex-Ford staffer’s move to mining giant - Toronto Star

Amid questions about whether Kevin Rombout’s move violated an ethics law, both Ontario and the mining company say the rules were followed.

As as deputy director of policy for the provincial Ministry of Mines, Kevin Rombout had been involved in discussions about a proposed gold mine. Then he went to work for the mining company.

Ontario’s integrity commissioner is being asked to investigate a former Ford government staffer’s move to a mining company whose project he helped advance while working for the province in 2024.

The Ontario NDP and government accountability group Democracy Watch filed complaints this week requesting investigations into the circumstances surrounding Kevin Rombout’s departure. The requests come in the wake of a Star investigation that raised questions about whether Rombout may have broken ethics rules when he went to work as an in-house lobbyist for Kinross Gold.

“This kind of shady backroom deal is exactly why the premier is losing the people’s trust,” Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said in a statement.

The provincial government and Kinross both said they followed the rules governing Rombout’s job change.

While working for the government, Rombout briefed staff in Premier Doug Ford’s office, exchanged emails with the publicly-traded company, and directed bureaucrats at multiple ministries on how to advance the project. In late 2024, he Rombout left to work for Kinross, which is seeking to build a gold mine in northwestern Ontario, upstream from Grassy Narrows First Nation.

Internal documents raise questions on whether Kevin Rombout’s move violated ethics law, an allegation that the province and the mining company deny.