A disclosure document related to the Collingwood judicial inquiry has been delivered to participants in part one of the inquiry hearings, and will eventually be made public.
The Collingwood judicial inquiry team has prepared and delivered a draft document to participants outlining the events surrounding the sale of 50 per cent of Collus utilities to Powerstream in 2012.
Lead inquiry counsel Kate McGrann said the inquiry team put together the document based on more than 400,000 documents received so far. Those documents were submitted by the participants in the hearing and would be connected, in some way, to the decisions leading up to and following the sale.
“It narrates the chronology as set out by the documents the inquiry has received,” said McGrann. The foundation document will also include links to the information provided to support the points in the chronology.
According to McGrann, the purpose of the document is three-fold.
First, the document is meant to provide “meaningful disclosure” to participants of the information produced to the inquiry. The chronology is built on documentation and a paper trail. Live evidence, such as interviews, will be presented in front of Justice Frank Marrocco during the inquiry hearings.
Secondly, the document gives participants in the hearing the opportunity to make suggestions about additions or changes in the document and chronology.
Thirdly, once released, it will provide members of the public an overview of the information disclosed to the inquiry before the hearings take place.
According to the inquiry website, the foundation document will provide “structure and context” for the hearings.
The Collingwood judicial inquiry has been split into three parts, with part one dealing with the Collus share sale, part two with the decision to spent the proceeds on two recreation facilities, and part three set as the policy phase. Hearings for part one and two are scheduled for April 15-May 3 and again from May 13-24.
Policy hearings are loosely scheduled for June 10-12.
The foundation document recently sent out by the inquiry is in draft form, and each participant in phase one of the inquiry now has a chance to review it and provide recommendations on additions to the document. Once finalized, the document will be made public. McGrann said inquiry counsel is aiming to have the document released publicly prior to the inquiry hearing dates.
McGrann said she couldn’t comment on the size of the document until it has been finalized. She said it’s the inquiry counsel’s intention to have this kind of information available for part two of the hearing as well.
Participants rights in the judicial inquiry have been granted to Alectra Utilities Corporation (formerly Powerstream), Paul Bonwick, Ian Chadwick, EPCOR, Sandra Cooper, Tim Fryer, Edwin Houghton, and the Town of Collingwood.
