NRP board wants external review
Request made of chief to turn over Burgoyne Bridge investigation to OPP or RCMP
The Niagara Regional Police board is “requesting” Chief Jeff McGuire turn the Burgoyne Bridge investigation over to another police service.
The board passed a resolution Thursday formally asking the chief to send the case to “the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, either jointly or individually, to conduct a full investigation into the areas of concern identified by the Deloitte Burgoyne Bridge Replacement Project Forensic Audit.”
The police board unanimously approved the resolution, said board chairman Bob Gale.
“On behalf of the public, we are asking the chief to make the referral to those forces,” Gale said.
Police board member and Port Colborne regional Coun. David Barrick made the motion.
Asked whether the board believes the NRP is properly investigating the contents of the audit, Gale said he couldn’t comment.
McGuire said both he and the investigator in charge of the case received the final version of the forensic audit from legal counsel at the Region shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The chief received the motion of request from the police services board at 9:50 a.m. Thursday.
“The investigator will be reviewing the forensic audit and reporting back to me, and I will respond to the police services board motion of request, and report back to the board with my decision.”
The board resolution said the forensic audit “has identified several matters which Deloitte recommends be the subject of further investigation by law enforcement authorities.”
It said an investigation of this nature, involving regional staff “who conduct business on a daily basis with the police,” could place NRP investigators in a position of “real or perceived conflict.”
Last week, regional council approved a motion that said once the final version of the forensic audit is complete, a redacted version will be released to the public. That is expected to happen in March.
“After reading the Deloitte forensic report, the public will be outraged when it is released,” Gale said Thursday.
Council began its inquiry into the bridge debacle in the spring by ordering a value-for-money audit after the costs of the bridge ballooned by tens of millions of dollars from the original estimate.
Council then took another step and asked for the forensic audit May 19, 2016, after suspicions arose of possible “fiduciary impropriety” related to the project following an anonymous tip.
The massive project began with an estimated total cost of $59 million. The final cost has easily surpassed $90 million.
The bill for the audits is expected to be in the $450,000 range.
The value-for-money audit on the bridge project that has already been completed was presented to council last year. It included concerns about missing documentation, poor procurement processes and a lack of transparency.
The replacement bridge, the largest the region owns and maintains, links downtown St. Catharines to west St. Catharines over Twelve Mile Creek and Highway 406.