Red Hill judicial probe: what happens next?

In the Hamilton Spectator, Eli S. Lederman shares his expert opinion regarding a judicial inquiry into Red Hill Valley Parkway.

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Expert lawyer Eli Lederman also warned it could take "several months" just to find an available judge thanks to a chronic shortage of Ontario Superior Court justices.

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Once the judge is appointed, "the municipality is stripped of its ability to control the inquiry," warned Lederman, who recommended against an inquiry for that reason.

He pointed to a judge's decision to expand the scope of a Toronto inquiry into a computer leasing scandal as the reason why the budget ballooned from $1 million to $11 million.

Lederman is helping council "scope" its list of investigation questions.

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It's hard to estimate a cost until a judge has determined what, exactly, will be investigated. But Lederman said Hamilton's probe will cost a "minimum $2 million."

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The city's lawyer did recommend appointing an auditor-general, ombudsman or external law firm instead. Lederman suggested a law firm could do the job for around $300,000 and within two to nine months.

But most councillors decided it was worth paying for the most transparent option: a judicial inquiry with public hearings and testimony. By comparison, ombudsman and auditor-general probes are conducted privately, with only the final report made public.