National Post: "The order came down before Christmas from Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca that anyone hoping to run as a candidate in the upcoming provincial election would be prohibited from travelling out of country for sunny winter getaways. No exceptions.
"But some had already made plans to travel, and they were in a bind. One candidate said she called the Ontario Liberals’ chief returning officer, Milton Chan, in December, to explain that she had already purchased expensive non-refundable tickets. Unbeknownst to her at the time, Chan was on his own sunny vacation at the time. Still, he informed her that the edict was clear: forget about the vacation or forget about being a Liberal party candidate...
"...[Milton] Chan is a long-time presence in the Ontario Liberals, having managed the party leadership campaigns of both Kathleen Wynne and Del Duca. He also served as chief-of-staff to then provincial indigenous affairs minister David Zimmer, and he was former premier Kathleen Wynne’s first chief strategist.
"Others in the party say Chan has set party policy — including Del Duca’s decision to ban candidates going away for Christmas. Two sources say Chan was on the call when the party leader informed candidates of the no-vacation rule.
"And so, while candidates were spending winter at home, Chan was travelling, first to Bogota, Colombia and then to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with his posted photos showing him spending the lead-up to the new year lounging on the area’s white sandy beaches, dancing in packed nightclubs and mingling in crowded city streets."