Hamilton hands over 55,500 documents to judge probing slippery Red Hill mystery

The city has now delivered all of the documents - about 55,500 or so - requested by the judge probing the slippery Red Hill Valley Parkway mystery.

City council voted in February 2019 to ask a Superior Court judge to investigate why a troubling friction study on the crash-prone parkway was inexplicably hidden for years.

But Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel was still waiting for needed documents from Hamilton and other inquiry participants as late as last week.

I have to say that I'm disappointed that more than 14 months after the inquiry (was called) we're still in a position where there is documents to be delivered," he said in an online hearing held last week, adding delays are expensive for an inquiry that has already cost taxpayers about $3 million.

The city and province of Ontario both cited the complexity of the search and COVID-19 pandemic challenges in explaining the delay. Most requested information is now expected to be handed over to the judge by the end of July.

On Tuesday, the city announced it has delivered 55,500 documents - including emails from a search of more than 100 municipal employee mailboxes - deemed relevant for the judicial investigation.

The information is needed before the inquiry legal team can begin interviewing witnesses and - eventually - plan public hearings. Those hearings likely won't happen before spring 2021 and pandemic health guidelines will determine whether in-person attendance will be allowed.

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