Province should pick up future bills

Cornwall Standard freeholder

Editorial

15 November 2007

Mayor Bob Kilger calls it an arrangement. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Attorney General calls it an agreement. Taxpayers can't be blamed for calling it an unfair burden put on their bent backs.

Regardless of what it is called, the fact is city taxpayers have shelled out $369,093 on legal fees and associated expenses related to Cornwall Community Police Service's participation in the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

And there's more to come.

The $369,093 covers only the period from April 1 to Sept. 30.

The legal meter is still running and will continue to run until at least July. Some think the inquiry could stretch into 2009.

But it could be worse.

Under the agreement/arrangement, the province agreed to pick up 60 per cent of the police board's tab. In the case of the April 1 to Sept. 30 period, that came to $734,286.

And let's not forget that the province cut a cheque to the city for $3.2 million to pay for all of its legal expenses up to the end of March.

The deal with the province was for a 60/40 split but the numbers show that the ministry's portion actually represents 68.2 per cent.

According to Mayor Kilger, the city will continue to press the province to pay a bigger share of present and future bills.

What the province should take into consideration is that yes the city passed a resolution six years ago supporting an inquiry, but nobody, not even the province, dreamed it would last this long and incur these kinds of legal bills