Toronto Silly Hall...

 

No need to appeal

August 16, 2010

After going against the repeated advice of their own legal department, and ending up in a lawsuit which they resoundingly lost, Toronto city councillors are set to discuss whether to challenge that verdict by appealing to a higher court. Given that they are on flimsy legal ground, they should reject the appeal and spare taxpayers further expense.
Regrettably, Toronto councillors have a record of being blind to the obvious when it comes to foisting unnecessary and unwarranted legal costs on the public purse.
The city’s executive committee is to vote today on whether to fight a Divisional Court ruling that found city council had exceeded its authority in paying out almost $140,000 in 2008. That money went to cover legal bills incurred by councillors Giorgio Mammoliti and Adrian Heaps while they were running in the 2006 municipal election. The expenses were reimbursed even though council’s own lawyers warned there was no legal justification for the payments.
To his credit, Councillor Doug Holyday pursued the case in court at his own expense and won a clear ruling against the council’s ill-judged move. Under these circumstances, an appeal by the city would add insult to the injury done to all taxpayers in this matter and to the reputation of council as a responsible governing body.
To be sure, councilors are now sitting ducks for vexatious law suits brought forward by defeated candidates and others with an axe to grind over alleged spending violations during election campaigns. But the solution to that problem is to change the provincial law to keep such cases out of the courts. That way councillors will not need their legal expenses to be subsidized by the taxpayer.