No charges over Burgoyne Bridge project
Lengthy OPP probe finds no evidence of wrongdoing
After 21 months of investigation, the Ontario Provincial Police say there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing connected with the Burgoyne Bridge replacement project.
In a press release issued by the Niagara Regional Police Monday afternoon, the OPP said it found no evidence of criminal activity “with respect to the project, or any of the other matters brought forward in the Deloitte Report or by regional councillors pertaining to procurement or conflicts of interest within the Niagara Region.”
An OPP spokesperson would not disclose which regional councillors made allegations of criminal wrongdoing, how many people police interviewed, how many officers were involved, or the cost of the investigation.
The investigation was launched in March 2017 after the NRP services board, led by Niagara Falls regional Coun. Bob Gale, asked then-NRP chief Jeff McGuire to request an OPP investigation into the over-budget bridge replacement project.
Regional council began an inquiry into the bridge project in the spring of 2016 by ordering a value-for-money audit after the costs of the bridge reconstruction ballooned from $54 million to over $91 million.
In June of 2016, council asked for a forensic audit after an anonymous tipster contacted the Region and made allegations of “fiduciary impropriety” related
to the project.
The $500,000 audit was produced by Deloitte Canada. It was not released publicly and in February 2017, the NRP services board passed a motion asking for an OPP investigation saying the audit “identified several matters which Deloitte recommends should be the subject of further investigation by law enforcement authorities.” The board requested McGuire call in the OPP to investigate. At the time Gale said the NRP could not investigate because it had frequent contact with the Region.
While McGuire said the NRP fraud unit was capable of a fair and impartial probe, he nevertheless requested the OPP investigate.
Councillors, some of whom said the audit had uncovered issues that rose to the level of criminal activity, briefly considered releasing a redacted version of the report. They changed their mind, however, when McGuire asked them not to disclose the report because of the ongoing OPP investigation.
The Standard obtained a copy of the Deloitte report and on
March 17, 2017, published a story about its contents. The report made no allegations of criminal wrongdoing. However, the report said any further investigation into three issues — one pertaining to the bridge contracts, and contracts awarded to two companies unrelated to the project — would require assistance from law enforcement.
The audit looked at the relationship between Niagara Region employees and contracts going back to 2008 and found the regional government had insufficient policies to guide procurement and hiring practices.
Regional Chair Alan Caslin and Couns. Tony Quirk of Grimsby; Selina Volpatti, Bart Maves and Bob Gale of Niagara Falls; Andy Petrowski and Tim Rigby of St. Catharines; David Barrick of Port Colborne and St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik were interviewed by Deloitte.
Regional staff managers who were targets of the Deloitte audit denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with The Standard at the time one of those managers, former regional transportation director Joe Cousins, said parts
of the Deloitte report were a “witch hunt” designed to find a scapegoat for the project’s cost overruns.
The report made several recommendations to improve project management procedures, some of which were later enacted by the Region.
In Monday’s news release, the OPP said members of the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch, led by a major case manager of the Criminal Investigation Branch, conducted
an investigation. The release said no evidence of criminal wrongdoing was found related to any issues raised by the Deloitte audit or by members of regional council.
“This matter has been thoroughly investigated and I would like to thank the investigative teams that were involved for their time and dedication to bringing this matter to a conclusion,” said NRP Chief Bryan MacCulloch in the press release.