Bill for Red Hill judicial inquiry set to climb beyond $26 million
The cost of solving Hamilton's slippery" Red Hill mystery is rising again - and is now expected to top $26 million.
Council voted in March 2019 to ask a Superior Court judge to probe how a troubling safety report on the collision-prone parkway was inexplicably hidden for five years - and whether that missing information put lives at risk.
The judicial inquiry started pandemic-delayed public hearings this spring, but witnesses are now expected to continue testifying through the fall.
The inquiry bill has climbed along with the number of delays. City lawyers originally estimated it could cost between $2 million and $11 million, but updated the estimate to $20 million late last year.
The latest report to council shows the city has already spent $18 million and counting, with new estimates ranging from $26 million to $28 million. Some expert witness costs also remain unaccounted for.
The city report attributes the spike in cost to the inquiry commission's decision to reschedule many hearing witnesses from the summer to September and October - in part due to an as yet unresolved dispute over privileged" legal documents the city has argued should be kept secret from the inquiry.
A separate, closed-door hearing to consider that matter will happen Aug. 9. The Spectator is arguing in support of releasing all relevant city documents to the public inquiry.
The inquiry has faced unanticipated challenges and delays.
Early on, Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel said he was disappointed" by delays in receiving documents from participants in the inquiry, which include the city, province, consultant Golder Associates and road builder Dufferin Construction.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic also slowed work - and hearings were put on hold last month when Wilton-Siegel contracted the virus. In May, lead inquiry lawyer Robert Centa was appointed a judge of the Superior Court, forcing other lawyers to step into his role.
The city has no control over inquiry costs - but under the law, it must pay the tab. So far, Hamilton has tapped rainy day reserve funds to cover inquiry costs so as to avoid raising taxes.
Some councillors have suggested asking for provincial help, but no formal request had been made as of late last year.
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com