Josh Matlow deserves reprimand for Scarborough subway comments, integrity commissioner says
Thestar.com
June 21, 2018
Jennifer Pagliaro
The city’s integrity commissioner has recommended council reprimand Councillor Josh Matlow for raising concerns about the politicization of city staff related to the controversial Scarborough subway project.
Integrity commissioner Valerie Jepson found Matlow “crossed the line” and injured the reputation of staff, in contravention of council’s code of conduct, after former TTC CEO Andy Byford complained about Matlow’s public statements questioning the objectivity of staff’s advice and a culture of politicization related to the $3.35-billion plan.
Jepson’s 14-page report doesn’t refer to a significant part of Matlow’s submission as part of her investigation -- that Byford himself told the councillor he had “never felt more politicized in his life” and that Byford texted Matlow that the briefing note at the centre of the investigation had been a request from TTC chair Councillor Josh Colle “and for the mayor’s office,” which contradicts Byford’s public statements about the memo’s origin.
Byford, who is now running the New York City Transit Authority, has not disputed the contents of the text message, or Matlow’s recollection of the private conversation. However, in an interview with the Star in December, he continued to say there was never any direction from politicians to produce the briefing note.
“The report does not provide an accurate portrayal of my actions,” Matlow wrote in a letter to council ahead of a meeting next week where it will be considered, adding the report “omits details that are fundamental to the issues at hand, and asks that I suspend my knowledge of the facts in this matter to avoid penalty.”
Jepson declined to comment on a report before council.
Noting that Matlow has refused to apologize but was co-operative in her investigation and has only once before been found to contravene the code of conduct in a related case, Jepson concluded council should do no more than reprimand him.
On Thursday, Byford told the Star he is “grateful to the integrity commissioner and her team for fully investigating my complaint and I am pleased that she found in my favour.”
He added: “This wasn’t just about me – I took out the complaint on behalf of the Toronto public service that does a great job in often trying and thankless circumstances.”
Byford’s complaint -- largely focused on an interview Matlow gave on CBC’s Metro Morning -- alleged Matlow “essentially said that what I and other TTC colleagues have said (via the briefing note) was not true and he further implied that my motives were less than honourable.”
In that interview, Matlow said the “vast majority” of public servants do their job with integrity, but that he had concerns about the objectivity of some advice and the influence that a culture of politicization at city hall has had on politically motivated projects.
The briefing note was produced by the TTC in the lead-up to a key council vote on the subway in 2016. It cast doubt that a return to the light-rail alternative preferred by Matlow and others on council was even possible and was used to influence the vote.
Auditor general Beverly Romeo-Beehler has investigated the briefing note and found that, while there was no evidence the memo was deliberately misleading, it contained several errors -- including misstating the updated cost of the LRT option by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The briefing note also questioned whether an LRT could even still be built given possible constraints in the corridor, despite public analysis available at the time confirming there was no conflict, and confirmation from Metrolinx that the LRT would still fit.
After Byford lodged his complaint, Matlow provided a text message sent to him by Byford to both the Star and Jepson. Byford wrote: “We have prepared a (briefing note) at the chair’s request and for the mayor’s office.” That contradicted Byford’s public statements that staff initiated the briefing note of their own accord.
Jepson concluded that Matlow suggested that errors in the briefing note were a result of political intervention and that they “crossed the line” of “fair comment.” She further concluded that a councillor can’t “draw Toronto’s professional public service into the debate.”
Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city politics. Follow her on Twitter: @jpags
Correction (June 22, 2018) -- This article previously misstated that Councillor Josh Matlow had never before contravened the code of conduct. A similar finding was made April 2017 in a related case, for which Matlow apologized.
