Duffy received the cheque from Nigel Wright as a part of a secret deal to repay a housing allowance that Duffy had been inappropriately collecting for years.

Commissioner Mary Dawson is examining this case to see if any rules were broken under the Conflict of Interest Act.

Since it is now under a formal investigation, Dawson’s office will not be commenting until a report has been filed.

The opposition has been heavily criticizing the prime minister and asking how involved he was in a deal that was cooked up in his own office.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird insists the prime minister was not behind this.

“The prime minister was not aware of the payment until last week after it was reported in the media,” he said.

Baird also claims there are no documents about this deal.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair said the facts suggest otherwise.

“In his own words, Senator Duffy ‘stayed silent on the orders of the Prime Minister’s Office.’ A secret cash payment from the prime minister’s chief of staff negotiated by the prime minister’s own lawyer.”

“Will the prime minister call in the RCMP and release all documents related to this secret backroom deal?”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says this is a very bad situation for the government.

“The highest non-elected member of the executive paid off a parliamentarian $90,000 to obstruct an audit. To make a problem, a political problem go away,” he said.

In a speech to cabinet, the prime minister said he is upset with the conduct of some parliamentarians and his own office but failed to shed light on any of the unanswered questions about the senate expense scandal.

Duffy stepped down from the Conservative caucus on Thursday and Wright resigned on Sunday.

Parents had spent five years raising $20,000 to build the playground at Mary Shadd Public School but it was torched on May 6. Local businesses have donated nearly $80,000 to rebuild it.

Police arrested a 19-year-old, 18-year-old and 17-year-old on Sunday. Each of them is charged with one count of arson causing damage to property.

Investigators are not releasing the names of the accused to protect the identity of the 17-year-old, police said.

The 17-year-old’s identity is protected under the Young Offenders Act.

The accused will appear in court June 27.

The Liberals addressed the NDP’s long list of demands in the May 2 budget.

But Horwath wanted more — including a financial accountability office, modelled on the parliamentary budget office in Ottawa — which the Liberals have agreed to.

“When you see the scandals that are playing out at all levels of government, we know that Ontarians deserve that accountability office so we’re very proud that we’ve been able to achieve that for them on their behalf,” Horwath said.

“We could’ve pulled the plug. Instead what we did was work really hard under a lot of pressure to be able to get the kind of accountability put in place here in Ontario that will last through this government, that will last through coming governments in the future.”

The NDP did not get everything they wanted, but the Liberals have made enough commitments to gain their support, Horwath said.

“It would have been really easy to simply say no and pull the plug and start all over again,” she said.

“But New Democrats took the harder path and worked really hard to deliver for Ontarians.”

Asked whether she might pull the trigger herself later this year, Premier Kathleen Wynne said she’s focused on getting the budget through.

“I’m going to take it one month at a time,” she said.

“I can’t tell you what will happen three, six, eight months from now, but I’m very happy to get through this budget cycle.”

The minority Liberals need the NDP’s support to pass the budget and remain alive since the budget vote is a confidence motion.

But unlike the last budget, when the NDP abstained, Horwath says this time they will actually vote.

“I’ve said pretty clearly we will be supporting the budget,” she said.

The Conservatives have refused to do any budget negotiating and have been pushing to topple the government over the gas plants scandal but Horwath says her party instead has been able to get something done to prevent future scandals.

Wynne said she still wants a “concrete agreement” in writing from Horwath about how they will proceed.

The budget incorporated NDP ideas to lower auto insurance premiums, as well as boost funding for home care and reduce youth unemployment.

After the budget was released, Horwath also asked for a financial accountability office, ombudsman oversight of the health-care sector and a freeze on plans to create high-occupancy toll lanes.

Wynne offered a compromise on extending the ombudsman’s authority by introducing new accountability measures across the health-care system. But she rejected the NDP’s demand on HOT lanes.

The premier did note that legislation would be needed to create the lanes, which would give the NDP and Progressive Conservatives a chance to kill the idea, since they collectively have more votes than the Liberals in the legislature.

Now that she knows where things stand, Wynne said she’ll look at setting dates for two byelections in Windsor and London. The seats were vacated in February by former cabinet ministers Dwight Duncan and Chris Bentley and the byelections must be called by Aug. 15.

Wynne will be visiting both cities this week, armed with a list of accomplishments in her first 100 days as premier, which include ending the labour war with teachers and restoring extracurricular activities for public school students.

The Tories are champing at the bit for a provincial election, having vowed to vote against the budget even before they read it.

Opposition Leader Tim Hudak slammed the NDP for backing the Liberals after criticizing them for blowing at least $585 million to cancel two gas plants — far more than what the government originally claimed.

“I don’t see how the people of the province of Ontario are served by propping up a corrupt government,” Hudak said.

But Horwath said she’s not turning a blind eye by keeping the Liberals alive, even though she’s accused them of lying to the public about the true cost of the cancellations.

An independent financial accountability office will help prevent such fiascos in the future, she said.

“When you see the scandals that are playing out this very moment at all levels of government, we know that Ontarians deserve that accountability office,” she said.

Horwath still runs the risk of having the governing party take credit for NDP ideas when they do go back to the polls.

The NDP supported the Liberals in 1985 on the condition that they implement some of their ideas. Two years later, the Liberals won by a landslide while the NDP lost seats.

“It’s not about me and my political fortunes,” Horwath said.

“I don’t believe it should be about anybody else’s political fortunes. What it should always be about is getting results for Ontarians.”

Provincial police said a vehicle travelling northbound crossed the lanes around 3 p.m., slamming into two vehicles in the southbound lanes.

Police have not released the identity of the victim.

More to come

Storm in Orangeville, May 21, 2013

Photo by: Chelsea Hanson-Casey

Storm in Pefferlaw, Georgina, May 21, 2013

Photo by: Kristin MacNamara

Parts of the Greater Toronto Area are seeing thunderstorms move through Tuesday.

Environment Canada says thunderstorms at times will bring heavy downpours, small hail and gusty winds.

The agency says severe thunderstorms have weakened.

A severe thunderstorm warning for areas in the GTA ended shortly before 6 p.m.

City council rejected a proposed downtown casino for the city and expansion at Woodbine Racetrack Tuesday.

Mayor Rob Ford called the issue “dead” last week at an impromptu news conference and cancelled a special meeting to consider the proposal, which was later reinstated by a group of councillors.

After debating the issue, council voted 40-4 against the proposal.

The mayor tried to convince council to allow expansion of gaming at Woodbine, but that motion was also defeated 31-13.

Coun. Mike Layton says he and his colleagues voted against a casino after hearing from constituents.

“The people of Toronto have spoken here. Councillors were being pressured by their constituents, by the people of Toronto to vote no.”

“I think that’s why you see that 40-4 vote at the end of day with council sending a strong note to the province: we don’t want casino expansion in the city of Toronto.”

Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti says the city just blew a chance to make money and now it will have to raise taxes.

“That’s what happened today. I think it’s a shame. I think it’s a concerted effort by some councillors to hijack council.”

During the debate, Ford accused Premier Kathleen Wynne of being opposed to a Toronto casino and the jobs it would bring.

“I don’t know why the premier does not support 10,000 good-paying, union jobs,” he said.

“No deal is good enough for this premier. Fact is, she simply doesn’t want a casino — at least not in Toronto.”

Ford slammed Wynne, accusing her of sabotaging casino plans by offering an Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. hosting fee of $39-million a year versus the $100-million the city wanted.

“It’s becoming crystal clear that this will never happen under the leadership of premier Wynne.”

But Wynne said she’s maintained from the beginning that every municipality should be treated the same when it comes to revenue sharing from casinos.

The decision to host a casino is “rightly in the hands of municipalities,” she said.

“I don’t think this is a personal debate between me and any other politician in the province,” Wynne said.

“I think this is about a principle — which is, municipalities should be able to make this decision.”

Wynne asked OLG to revise their funding formula in March after reports surfaced it was offering a special deal to Toronto that would see the city collect $100 million in hosting fees.

But the government’s refusal to divulge the formula last week sparked an angry Ford to denounce the Liberals for spoiling plans for a casino.

Wynne fired OLG chairman Paul Godfrey later that day, prompting the entire board of directors to resign.

Godfrey has said he wasn’t given a reason for his dismissal, but Wynne told him the government was “going in a different direction.”

Wynne said Tuesday that there were “critical” points of divergence.

They included the “fairness” of a casino formula to ensure Toronto didn’t get a special deal, she said. They also differed on the integration of the horse-racing industry — which was devastated after OLG ended the slots-at-racetracks program — into the corporation’s modernization strategy.

As for the video allegedly showing the mayor using drugs, Ford refused to talk about it.

680News reporter Kevin Misener and CityNews reporter Cynthia Mulligan were at City Hall covering the story. Read a re-cap of their live tweets below:

Nazeef Ahmadzai, 30, charged in gang sexual assault investigation

Photo courtesy of: Toronto Police Service

Omeed Ahmadzai, 24, charged in gang sexual assault investigation

Photo courtesy of: Toronto Police Service

Hewad Ahmadzi, 26, charged in gang sexual assault investigation

Photo courtesy of: Toronto Police Service

Police have charged three men in relation to a gang sexual assault and police believe there may be more victims.

Police responded to an unknown trouble call in the Windsor Street and Blue Jays Way area early Saturday morning.

A 22-year-old woman was out with friends when a man approached her in a club.

When she left, the same man and two other men followed her outside to offer her a ride home.

She accepted and was allegedly assaulted while being confined to an SUV.

The woman’s friends called police which resulted in quick arrests.

Hewad Ahmadzai, Omeed Ahmadzai and and Nazeef Ahmadzai, all of Toronto, face a total of eight charges.

Please note: Gas prices have become very volatile because of a change in the way oil companies set their prices, thus making it more challenging to predict gasoline prices.

The shooting occurred at around 4 a.m. inside a highrise building in the Dixon Road and Islington Avenue area.

Police told 680News the victim is a man in his early 20s. He was found on the 17th floor of the building.

His condition is not yet known, but reports from the scene indicate he was conscious and breathing.

There’s no word on suspects.

A visitation will be held on May 21, from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Mount Pleasant Cemetery Visitation Centre.

A funeral will be held on May 22 at 11 a.m. at Toronto’s Christ Church Deer Park.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to War Amps or Doctors Without Borders.

Worthington died May 12 at the age of 86.

The Toronto Sun reported Worthington died at Toronto General Hospital, where he had been admitted with a staph infection.

Career and legacy

Worthington enlisted in the Canadian Navy when he was 17 and served in the Korean War before becoming a journalist.

As a former staff reporter at the Toronto Telegram, he covered the Vietnam War, and was in the Dallas courthouse parking garage in 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby.

He also reported on conflicts in the Gaza Strip, the Portuguese Colonial War, the invasion of Netherlands’ New Guinea by Indonesia and was in the northeast frontier of India when Chinese forces invaded, the Sun reported.

After the Telegram folded in 1971, Worthington, J. Douglas Creighton and Don Hunt founded the Toronto Sun.

Worthington was the editor-in-chief for 12 years and helped launch the Ottawa Sun in the late 1980s.

“He had that sixth sense of where the story is going to be, the right side of the story. That’s why he won so many national newspaper awards,” Sun columnist Joe Warmington told 680News.

He also said Worthington should be remembered for more than his journalism career.

“He really is one of the giants, not only in journalism, but really in Canadian history as well,” Warmington said.

Fellow Sun columnist said Worthington was kind, funny and fearless. Watch video below:

Worthington is survived by his wife, Yvonne Crittenden, and children Casey Worthington, Guy Crittenden, Danielle Crittenden, and six grandchildren.

His son-in-law, journalist David Frum, reflected on Worthington’s career on the dailybeast.com.

Sun journalists remember Worthington:

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With files from Erin Criger, CityNews.ca