City hit with inquiry bill; Taxpayers on the hook for 40%

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

08 November 2007

Posted By Terri Saunders

The city has been on the hook since April 1 for as much as 40 per cent of police costs associated with the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

Between April 1 and Sept. 30, the city paid $369,094 in legal bills incurred by the Cornwall Community Police Service and its board in relation to their participation as a party at the inquiry. That's about 40 per cent of the total cost billed by Toronto-based law firm Gowlings for their legal services; the rest is being picked up by the Ministry of the Attorney General.

In February, the province cut the city a cheque for $3.2 million to cover costs incurred by the cops from the start of the inquiry in the fall of 2005 through March 31, 2007. At that time, Mayor Bob Kilger said nothing specific had been decided about how future costs would be covered.

"I don't think we're going to get into a situation where every month we're going to be negotiating with the province to pay the bills," Kilger said during a press conference Feb. 24. "But we will be in contact with the ministers (of both the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of the Attorney General) as the situation continues to evolve."

Soon after that press conference, lawyers from Gowlings met with officials within the Ministry of the Attorney General and collectively they came up with a funding formula that approaches a 60/40 cost share between the province and the city.

Beginning April 1, Gowlings billed the ministry monthly for about 60 per cent of the costs associated with their work as legal counsel for the police force at the inquiry.

"That funding is consistent with the guidelines set out by the Cornwall Public Inquiry," said Paul Fitzpatrick, the city's CAO. "The remainder of those costs was billed to the law firm's clients, which are the Cornwall Community Police Service and the Cornwall Community Police Services Board and, in turn, those bills were paid by the city."

Fitzpatrick said the decision to move forward with the funding formula was ultimately made by the law firm, although the city was frequently consulted throughout the process.

Quotables: Bob Kilger

"I don't think we're going to get into a situation where every month we're going to be negotiating with the province to pay the bills. But we will be in contact with the ministers (of both the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of the Attorney General) as the situation continues to evolve," Mayor Bob Kilger on Feb. 24, just weeks before the city started paying for representation at the Cornwall Public Inquiry.

"This firm was acting in the best interest of the city," said Fitzpatrick, "and we believed it was best to have lawyers talking to lawyers."

Fitzpatrick also confirmed the decision to agree with the funding formula did not include any consultation with city council members.

"There is no formal agreement; this is just a funding formula," he said.

"This decision was made through the mayor's office, through my office and through the office of the city's treasurer and it would have involved sensitive information protected by solicitor-client privilege."

On Wednesday, Kilger said the city would be keeping a close eye on the bills being submitted by the law firm in the coming months.

"We will continue to monitor those costs closely as we enter into the crux of the matter when our officers will be called to testify," said Kilger.

Deputy Chief Danny Aikman said it's anticipated the inquiry-associated costs for this fiscal year will likely be less than the previous period due to a change in the type of work being done on the file.

"In the beginning, there was a lot of work being done in terms of researching and gathering documents and that involved a lot of human resources, including clerks and paralegals and assistants," said Aikman.

"Now the work is focusing on preparing our members for testifying at the inquiry, going over documents with them and ensuring they're ready to take the stand."

Aikman said there has also been an effort on all sides to keep the costs as low as possible.

"We've paid a lot of attention in terms of the resources being applied to this matter," he said. "Our solicitors have demonstrated ongoing diligence as they ensure they are doing things in the least expensive manner possible."

Fitzpatrick said there could be discussions in the future with the province for additional funding if city officials feel the costs are skyrocketing.

"This does not preclude the city from going back to the province and asking for more money," he said. "That would be a political process, but one which could be embarked upon if council saw fit to do so."

tsaunders@standard-freeholder.com