Report on Brampton development deal called a 'whitewash’

Brampton city council unanimously agrees to seek a full public inquiry by provincial ombudsman Andre Marin.

Thestar.com
May 4, 2015
By San Grewal

The man considered by many in the field of municipal law in Ontario as the expert's expert was publicly shamed for more than three hours Monday night inside Brampton council chambers.

Lawyer George Rust-D'Eye's investigation into a $500-million development deal that led to accusations of staff misconduct was repeatedly called a "whitewash" by members of the public and council inside a filled chamber.

After the drubbing was over, Mayor Linda Jeffrey called for a full public inquiry by provincial ombudsman Andre Marin into procurement practices in Brampton and potential misconduct. Her motion to that effect passed unanimously.

“We would be happy to accept the unanimous motion and vote of confidence by #brampton and city council and @lindajeffrey to conduct a public inquiry,” Marin tweeted minutes later.

"This is a very sad story for Brampton. This is a whitewash," 35-year resident Massell Evans said to Rust-D'Eye during the meeting.

"At the time, I predicted that we would get a whitewashed report," Councillor John Sprovieri said, referring to the point early in the year when he learned that Rust-D'Eye, hired in September, had previously worked for the WeirFoulds law firm, which was involved in the development deal's early stages. "So, Mr. Rust-D'Eye, you proved me right."

Councillors took turns pointing out that Rust-D'Eye's report, which exonerates city staff of any misconduct in the process of securing the development deal, relied almost solely on the claims of the same staff he was investigating.

"I anticipated that people might say whitewash," Rust-D'Eye responded. He said he was not in a conflict of interest and referred to a recent letter from WeirFoulds that confirmed he was not involved in his firm’s work on the project, but did state that Rust-D’Eye “was head of the municipal (law) section at the time."

Rust-D'Eye said he addressed Sprovieri’s concerns in March about whether he had worked on the development deal while at WeirFoulds.

"I said, I didn't remember," Rust-D'Eye said Monday, prompting members of the public to question why he took the job at all if he didn't know at the time whether he was in a conflict.

Rust-D'Eye was also questioned about how his report ended up costing $269,000, when council had been told verbally in September by former chief administrative officer John Corbett, who hand-picked Rust-D'Eye, that it would cost $50,000-$60,000. Corbett was one of the staff directly involved in the issues council ordered to be investigated.

Rust-D'Eye was also asked why it took almost eight months. He said he was not given a budget, "nor did I give any prediction as to when it would be done." Rust-D'Eye did state in an October preliminary report that, "I expect to have a final report to council before the end of 2014."

Councillors then took turns picking apart what they called a "useless" report, with the public gallery at one point giving them a standing ovation.

Councillor Elaine Moore said a March 2011 letter from consultant Deloitte Canada, which Rust-D'Eye referred to throughout his report as validation of the project's $94-million construction cost, made it clear that it was based on cost figures provided by winning bidder Dominus Construction and the city. She pointed out that there was no independent validation of those figures.

Rust-D'Eye remained silent as councillors questioned why he accepted staff claims on many issues without scrutiny.

As to the cost of the probe, he said, "I'm billing about half of what I would bill if I was providing legal advice to the city."