In July 2018, Ford hired Rueben Devlin, former PC Party president and a Ford family friend, as a health-care advisor at a salary of $350,000 plus expenses, more than Ford's own salary of $208,974.[87][121]
In December 2018 Bob Paulson, who served as RCMP for 32-years before retiring in 2017, called for an independent third-party inquiry into Ford's appointment in December 2018 of Toronto Police Superintendent Ron Taverner, who is a long-time friend of Ford, as the new commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.[120] By March 2019, Taverner had stepped down following "months of controversy" that "triggered an integrity commissioner investigation".[122]
A June 20, 2019 article in The Star said that Ford had awarded "plum patronage posts to two political allies". He hired Jag Badwal as Ontario's agent-general to Britain and the United States with an annual salary of $185,000.[123] Ford named Earl Provost as Ontario's agent-general to Chicago.[123]
On June 28, 2019 Ford's chief of staff, Dean French, resigned "amid a patronage scandal".[124] According to a The Globe and Mail article, French resigned "after it was revealed that two people with personal ties to [French], 26 year-old Tyler Albrecht and Taylor Shields were appointed to lucrative positions in New York and London.[125][126] The Toronto Sun reported in a June 27, 2019 article that 26 year-old Tyler Albrecht, who had a "thin resume" was proposed for a "job that paid $165,000 a year, plus housing and other expenses" as Ontario's "new trade rep in New York City". His qualification was "that he played lacrosse with French's son".[127] TVO's Steve Paikin cited the example of Taylor Shields, who is French's wife cousin who was appointed as the trade representative in London, England,[125] with a salary of $185,000 plus expenses.[126] Just hours before French resigned, Ford had cancelled Albrecht's and Shields' appointments.[126]
Thomas Staples, who played on St. Michael's College Varsity Lacrosse team with French as coach,[124] worked in the office of Bill Walker, who was Chief Government Whip. When Walker became Minister of Government and Consumer Services in November 2018, Staples worked as his executive assistant and legislative affairs advisor.[128] According to iPolitics, Staples had not completed his undergraduate studies, and had neither the qualifications nor work experience in politics.[128]
French's niece, Katherine Pal, who had been appointed as Ontario's Public Accounts Council resigned after her family ties to French were revealed.[128] According to Paikin, Pal was well qualified to be Public Accounts Council but she resigned because of the bad optics.[125]
On July 4, Peter Fenwick, who served as Ontario's first "strategic transformation adviser" since November 2018, was fired when it was revealed in an interview in an interview with The Star that "Fenwick has been a life insurance customer of French's for at least 20 years".[129]
On July 10, Andrew Suboch, a "a personal injury and insurance lawyer" who had served as chair of the Justices of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee (JPAAC), informed the JPAAC that he was resigning immediately after an article in the Globe revealed that Suboch was another of French's "long-time" friends whose sons played lacrosse together for many years.[124][126]
According to a July 4, 2019 article in The Toronto Star, John Fraser, who is the Ontario Interim Liberal Leader, called for a "formal probe" into French's "involvement in appointments" to be undertaken by J. David Wake—Ontario's integrity commissioner—in order "to clear the air and restore public confidence". He asked that Ford "make any findings public" because of the "tremendous influence" French had in Ford's government.[130]