On 1 February 2023 Blair McArthur, the Senior Vice President of Miller Paving Ltd, part of the Miller Group, gave $1,200 to Tom Vegh to help fund his campaign for re-election.  (photo right)

I am left wondering if Vegh asked for a donation – more than three months after the election. Or did McArthur volunteer the money without Vegh asking? I don’t know.

In any event, during the election last year Vegh promised voters he would not take money from people doing business with the Town. He made it perfectly clear:

"... donations from anyone who may do business with the Town will not be accepted."

The Miller Group website tells us they provide products and services through a number of owned and affiliated companies including Brennan Paving & Construction Ltd.

Construction Contract

Brennan Paving & Construction Ltd is currently bidding for a contract to reconstruct and resurface Pony Drive here in Newmarket. 

The law now prohibits corporate and trade union donations so Blair McArthur was donating as a private individual.

However, in Vegh’s financial statement McArthur’s address is given as:

180 Renfrew, Suite 120, Markham, Ontario,L3R 9Z2

This is the business address of White Owl.

Unaware

Vegh told Newmarket Today that he was unaware of the alleged connection McArthur had with White Owl before filing his documents (on Wednesday 29 March 2023). He said White Owl is not doing any business with the Town of Newmarket. 

Blair McArthur also contributed to Vegh’s 2018 election campaign on 11 January 2019, again after the campaign period had officially ended.

Back then McArthur gave his address as:

PO Box 4080, Markham, L3R 9R8

This is the business address – or one of them – of Miller Paving Ltd.

$350M contract with York region

The Miller Group is a vast agglomeration of entities (Click "read more" below).

Miller Paving has a huge $350M contract with York Region to extend the Yonge Street Rapidway north to Green Lane. 

I don’t know if Miller Group companies have done business with the Town of Newmarket but I am in the process of finding out. 

The question that continues to intrigue me is this. Why would a full-time politician like Vegh take money from people who may be doing business with the Town without checking it out beforehand? When he took money from McArthur in 2019 he must have realised then that McArthur was one of the big names in paving and construction. 

In so many ways, Tom Vegh is a man of mystery. A politician who is happiest when keeping his thoughts to himself, saying very little to shape events.

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Update on 16 April 2023: On 12 April 2023 the Town of Newmarket confirmed that neither the Miller Goup nor White Owl had contracted with the Town throughout the last Council Term:

I asked for sight of all Requests for Proposals issued from 23 October 2018 to 31 March 2023 showing the bid price as well as the name and address of the successful bidder for each where the address of the successful bidder included: 

505 Miller Avenue, Markham, L6G 1B2 or 

P.O. Box 4080, Markham, L3R 9R8 or 

180 Renfrew Drive, Markham, L3R 9Z2 

I am told:

"The Procurement Department has conducted a search of their records and found nothing responsive to your request." 

The Miller Group website tells us the Miller Group provides products and services through a number of owned and affiliated companies...

Brennan Paving, Brennan Paving & Construction Ltd, Colas Canada, Cumberland Paving & Contracting, E.C. King Contracting, Entretien Miller Ltee., Esker Aggregates, Georgian Paving, Huron Construction, I.M.O.S., Industrial Cold Milling, Lavis Contracting Co. Limited, MacDonald Paving & Construction, Mill-Am Corporation, Miller Aggregates, Miller Capilano, Miller Cement, Miller Concrete, Miller Group, Miller Group Inc. (US),Miller Maintenance, Miller Northwest, Miller Paving Haulage, Miller Paving Limited, Miller Paving North Bay, Miller Paving Northern, Miller Timmins, MSO Construction, Pave-AL, Perth Ready-Mix, Redi-Rock, The Murray Group Limited, J Pounder Ltd and Tri City Materials

My email to Tom on Thursday 30 March 2023

Good afternoon Tom

I hope you are well and that you have recovered from the contagious illness which kept you away from being physically present at this week’s Committee of the Whole.

I see from your Financial Statement which you filed with the Town yesterday that you received a donation of $1,200 from Blair McArthur, the Chairman of White Owl.

The company is seeking to build on the Greenbelt and is actively lobbying the Government in support of this objective.

In the light of this I believe you should return the $1,200 donation to Blair McArthur immediately.

During the election Newmarket Today asked all candidates if they would take campaign donations from developers.

So far as I can tell you did not return your questionnaire but the question is as relevant today as it was last year.

Please let me know when you will return the $1,200.

I am copying this to Joseph Quigley at Newmarket Today.

Gordon

From the Town of Newmarket's Bid Opportunities webpage: