The Condo Rumours Are Unproven. The Problem Isn't.

Over the past few weeks, a number of residents have sent me videos, PDFs and posts making serious claims about members of Pickering Council, including claims that condominium units were "gifted" to councillors by developers. Several people have asked me whether these claims are true.

I've reviewed the material carefully. Here is my honest answer.

What the records actually show

The property records attached to these claims show units bought at recorded purchase prices, the way anyone buys a condo. Nothing in them shows a gift. One of the documents circulating even admits that its own evidence does not show the units were given to anyone. Claims that the number of units is unusually large also appear to count each parking space and storage locker as a separate "condo," which is how condo parking and lockers are often registered in Ontario. Claims made about the Mayor's property holdings came with no records at all.

So I won't repeat these claims, and I'd ask residents not to share them. Accusing people of corruption without evidence isn't accountability. It's the opposite. It also drags in family members who aren't running for anything, and some of the material circulated people's home addresses. That crosses a line, whoever is on the receiving end.

"I've spent years asking City Hall for facts, not spin. I have to hold myself to the same standard."

The real questions are still worth asking

None of that means residents are wrong to be concerned. The concerns underneath these rumours are legitimate, and some are already on the public record:

• Gifts from developers. The City's own disclosure statements show councillors accepting gala and sports tickets from development and construction companies. In 2023, INdurham reported that tickets given to three councillors exceeded the City's $500 limit. The Integrity Commissioner called it a technical breach and took no further action.
• Developer campaign money. As I set out in my earlier report, Buyer Beware, development interests have been major donors to sitting members of Council.
• Accountability that doesn't work when it's needed. The Pointer's recent investigation showed how Ontario's municipal accountability system can leave residents without answers for years.
• Property interests and votes. When a member of Council owns, or has agreed to buy, property in a project that comes before Council, residents deserve to know, and to see that the member declared it and stepped back from the vote. Today, residents have no easy way to check.

What I'll do as Mayor

Rumours fill the space that transparency leaves empty. The way to end them is to make the facts easy to find. As Mayor, I will:

• Bring forward a public register of every Council member's real estate interests in Pickering, including purchase agreements in development projects, updated regularly and posted online.
• Require members to check that register against every planning item on the agenda, with declarations of interest recorded in the minutes and easy for residents to search.
• Tighten the gifts policy so that no member of Council accepts gifts, tickets or hospitality from anyone with a development application before the City.
• Take zero developer donations myself, as I have throughout this campaign.

If you have a concern

If you believe a member of Council has a conflict of interest or has acted improperly, please take it to the appropriate authorities. Depending on the concern, that may be the City's Integrity Commissioner, a judge through an application under Ontario's Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, which any elector can make, or the police if you believe a crime has been committed. These processes exist so that concerns are tested on evidence, fairly, for everyone involved. Please use them, rather than social media.

I know many residents have lost confidence in the Integrity Commissioner process in particular. Some feel its decisions haven't been applied evenly, and The Pointer's reporting shows how the system can leave people without answers for years. I share those concerns. As Mayor, I will bring forward a full review of how Pickering's Integrity Commissioner is appointed, how complaints are handled and how decisions are reported, so that residents can trust the process to be independent, consistent and timely, no matter who the complaint is about.

• Independent appointment, so the people being investigated have no say in who investigates them.
• Clear timelines, so complaints aren't left unresolved for years.
• Public reasons for every decision, so residents can see the same standard is applied to everyone.

Pickering deserves a Council that doesn't leave room for rumours, and a campaign that doesn't spread them. That's the standard I'm holding myself to, and the one I'll bring to City Hall.

My full plan for transparency at City Hall: shaunrickardformayor.ca/platform

Sources

• City of Pickering, Council Member Disclosure Statements 2022–2026
• INdurham, Gifts given to Pickering Councillors in March deemed not enough for investigation
• The Pointer, How a dispute between Pickering neighbours exposed Ontario's broken municipal accountability system, October 17, 2026
• City of Pickering, Integrity Commissioner
• Shaun Rickard for Mayor, Buyer Beware: Developer Campaign Donations