Judicial inquiry into Red Hill begins
Don’t expect public hearings until this fall, said Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel, who will hear Friday from those wishing to participate
A judicial inquiry is now underway into a buried safety report about the Red Hill Valley Parkway — but don’t expect public hearings until the fall.
Council voted last February to ask a Superior Court judge to investigate why a troubling friction study on the crash-prone parkway was inexplicably hidden for years.
The rare judicial probe will feature public hearings to vet evidence and allow witness testimony.
But those hearings are not expected before the fall, said inquiry commissioner Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel at a public session for residents Thursday at Hamilton City Hall. There is a lot of behind-thescenes investigation to do first, he said.
That includes the review of “hundreds of thousands documents” related to everything from the 2007 construction of the parkway, friction tests conducted in intervening years, and emails and correspondence between government workers, consultants and contractors over years.
On Friday, Wilton-Siegel will also hear from parties seeking to formally participate in the inquiry.
Parties seeking such standing include the city and province, a contractor and consultant with history of working on the parkway, and families of Red Hill crash victims.
A quick Red Hill refresher:
What is a judicial inquiry?
It’s definitely “not a trial,” Wilton-Siegel reminded residents Thursday.
The intent is not to establish criminal responsibility or liability for civil damages, but to answer questions about the Red Hill friction scandal and make recommendations to improve policy or safety.
The inquiry is headed by a judge, however. That means witnesses can be compelled to testify, for example.
Why are we doing this?
City officials for years dismissed rumours about a “slippery” Red Hill Valley Parkway.
But tests results were mysteriously rediscovered in 2018 that measured poorer friction on the parkway compared to the Linc. The city-commissioned report was somehow buried for more than four years.
In 2017, an award-winning Spectator investigation found the Red Hill had twice as many crashes as the Linc over five years.
The findings enraged families of crash victims — some of whom are pursuing a class-action lawsuit — and spurred a speed limit reduction and repave last year.
What exactly is being investigated?
City council submitted a list of questions it wanted answered when it applied for a judicial inquiry.
A selection includes: Who knew what, and when, about the mysteriously hidden 2013 friction report? Why was it buried? Did withholding those test results contribute to collisions on the parkway? Why did council not know about separate Red Hill tests done by the province?
But by law, it’s up to the judge to decide the scope of the investigation, so stay tuned.
How long will it take?
Hard to say. Formal hearings are not expected until the fall — nearly a year and a half after city council requested the inquiry.
What will it cost?
The city — i.e. the local taxpayer — is responsible for covering the cost of the inquiry. But the length and complexity of the probe will determine the cost. The city had already spent about $640,000 on preparations for the inquiry by last fall.
The Town of Collingwood originally estimated $1.6 million for its ongoing hydro sale judicial probe. But a probe of Toronto’s computer-leasing scandal from the early 2000s ended up costing $11 million.