Ontario tourism minister Stan Cho resigns over hotel expenses scandal

In a statement on Friday morning, Premier Doug Ford said he had accepted Cho's resignation.

Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho has resigned from cabinet after a week of scandal over his spending on hotels in Toronto, despite living six kilometres from Queen’s Park. Global News was first to report that Cho, whose home is seven subway stops from the legislature, had billed more than $16,000 to the taxpayer for hotel stays in downtown over the past three years. After the story broke, Cho said he would pay the money back, but following a week of backlash, Premier Doug Ford said the Willowdale MPP had offered to step down.

Get daily National news “Earlier today, I accepted the resignation of Stan Cho from Cabinet, effective immediately,” the premier’s office wrote on Friday morning. “He has acknowledged and taken responsibility for his mistake. He will continue to serve the people of Willowdale as their Member of Provincial Parliament.”

Cho said in his own statement that he had paid back the hotel stays and accepted claiming them was a mistake. - As Ontario wildfires rage, Canadian Forces on ‘standby’ to help: minister - Ford government pushed looser rules for MPP hotel benefit it now plans to reverse - Metro Vancouver CAO Jerry Dobrovolny could be on his way out - Byelection in Calgary to be called when people can pay attention to politics: premier “I am taking full responsibility, as I do not want to be a distraction from our plan to grow the economy,” the Willowdale MPP wrote.

“I have a young family at home and a schedule that too often kept me from them. On late nights, I made a choice that was easier for me. I did not stop to ask how it would look to a person in my riding working a double shift.”

More to come...