In the interest of transparency, the City of Cornwall is releasing the expenses related to the recent Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision, the Ministry of Health case and the matter involving Diane Shay.
The full breakdown of costs related to these matters is as follows in the picture to the right:
Some of these costs date back to 2009, and the majority of the expenses have been covered in the 2010 and 2011 City budgets. Traditionally, the City budgets $100,000 annually for grievance and arbitration matters.
The City was unable to share the information any sooner as there were still some outstanding invoices to be confirmed and reviewed as late as this week.
The trial dealing with the charges under the Homes for the Aged and Rest Homes Act was originally scheduled for seven trial days beginning in September 2011. Just six business days before the trial was set to begin, the Crown advised the City's lawyer, John Saunders, that they would be filing a motion with the Court to prohibit Mr. Saunders and Hicks Morley from cross-examining Ms. Shay due to a perceived conflict of interest given her employment with the Human Resources Department and past dealings with Mr. Saunders. This motion and the planned trial would have likely have resulted in additional legal costs of $100,000 to the Corporation to defend the charges. In light of these circumstances, the City decided to plead guilty in this matter.
The matter involving the Human Rights Tribunal has yet to be finalized and further costs may be incurred.
