Criminal convictions, criminal investigations and criminal charges top the list of 2014 midsummer spending scandals. In addition to criminal matters, the following Top 7 countdown also features other high-profile legislative spending controversies:
1. Former Big Easy Mayor Sentenced to Ten Years for Corruption: On July 9, the Toronto Star reported that former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was “sentenced to 10 years in prison for bribery, money laundering and other corruption that spanned his two terms as mayor.” The report also states that “Nagin was convicted Feb. 12 of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin’s support for various projects. The bribes came in the form of money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business.”
2. Ousted London Mayor Gets Four Months for Breach of Trust: On July 15 CBC news reported that “Joe Fontana, the former mayor of London, Ont., who was convicted of fraud-related offences from his time as a federal Liberal cabinet minister, was sentenced Tuesday to four months of house arrest and 18 months of probation.” The story also states that “The judge said earlier Tuesday that, normally, a $1,700 fraud by a 64-year-old businessman would not make it to trial, but what makes this case more serious is the breach of trust, committed by Fontana as a member of Parliament.”
3. Criminal Probe of Ornge Deal Entangled in Italian Red Tape: On June 28 the Toronto Star reported that the ongoing criminal probe into a helicopter deal between Ornge and an Italian aviation firm is stalled in red tape as investigators await clearance to travel to Italy to conduct interviews. As the story states, “It could still be many months before detectives book their flights to continue a probe that began two-and-a-half years ago. With the help of the provincial attorney general’s ministry, the OPP is applying through the federal government to arrange with Italian authorities to send Ontario detectives to conduct interviews and obtain documents from government and companies in Italy.”
4. RCMP Throws the Book at Mike Duffy: On July 17, the Ottawa Citizen reported that a “staggering 31 criminal charges were laid against Sen. Mike Duffy Thursday for fraud, breach of trust and even bribery – a legal and political haymaker that will reverberate through the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper between now and the 2015 federal election.”
5. Senate Shocker Over Auditor General’s Audit Bill: In a related story, the National Post reported on June 22 of shock in the Senate over a $220 000 bill from the auditor general for conducting a senate spending audit. As the story stated, “A sweeping probe of senators’ spending by the auditor general will cost the red chamber more than double what was initially anticipated. Senators on the internal economy committee — tasked with oversight of Senate spending – learned recently that the Senate must find about $120,000 in extra costs to help support auditor general Michael Ferguson’s teams as they pore through claims, receipts and other spending documents.”
6. NDP Launch Lawsuit in Commons Spending Dispute: In another parliamentary spending controversy, on July 11 the National Post reported that the federal NDP is launching a legal challenge after being ordered by the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy to repay the cost of its allegedly partisan mailing outs. As the story states,”The NDP has officially turned to the courts to quash an order from a secretive Commons board that the party repay $1.17 million for partisan mailings. The party has asked the Federal Court for a judicial review of a decision by the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy that ordered the party to repay Parliament $36,000 for the partisan mailings and a further $1.13 million to Canada Post.”
7. Brampton Mayor Challenges Accuracy of Sole Sourcing Story: On July 3 the Toronto Star reported that Brampton City Council was shocked over the amount of “non-compliant” contracts awarded by city staff. As the story states, “The City of Brampton has broken its own rules for purchasing and procuring goods or services 302 times since 2007. In total, $4,627,027 worth of contracts violated the city’s own bylaws going back seven years, according to city documents. In one case, an $854,000 job in 2013 to renovate offices inside city hall was handed to a company without any competitive bidding….In March 2012, a new purchasing bylaw came into effect that requires any contracts that violate any rules be reported to council….But councillors say the new reporting is still too lax and is only done after the rules have already been broken.” In a follow up story on July 17 the Toronto Star reported that Brampton Mayor Susan Fennel challenged the accuracy of the original news story and asked the paper for a retraction. The story also stated that city council recently “voted to hire a new integrity commissioner, Robert Swayze, who also serves in the same role for Mississauga.”
