Ontario Installs Jean Lépine to Run RECO Under Emergency Powers
The move follows a Dentons review flagging cultural failures in RECO’s handling of the iPro trust‑fund scandal.
Overview
- Using rarely used statutory authority, Minister Stephen Crawford removed RECO’s board effective Dec. 1 and vested its powers in an administrator who is insulated from legal liability.
- More than $10 million was misappropriated from iPro Realty trust accounts, a problem disclosed only after a threatened audit in May 2025.
- A Dentons Canada review raised serious concerns about RECO’s organizational culture and its handling of the iPro case, prompting the intervention.
- RECO board chair Katie Steinfeld said the regulator had started addressing concerns and sought to work with the province while defending its management of the file.
- Lépine is a veteran communications executive who most recently served as chief strategy officer at Ontario One Call.