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September
2000 Newsletter
Millions
More for Lawyers and Lobbyists
A
year ago Toronto lawyer David Estrin told regional council
that he could stop the federal environmental assessment
of the Red Hill Creek Expressway. Mr. Estrin estimated the
job would take six months and would cost taxpayers between
$75,000 and $100,000. Neither prediction has turned out
to be accurate. The court hearings are now scheduled for
five days at the end of November, with a decision sometime
in 2001 and potential appeals that could extend the case
into 2002 — a little more than the six months predicted
by Mr. Estrin.
Unfortunately for taxpayers, Mr. Estrin's cost estimates
were even more far fetched than his time predictions. By
November 1999, the bill had reached $700,000 and council
was asked to approve an additional $500,000 bringing the
total bill to $1.2 million. A portion of these monies were
earmarked for two sets of lobbyists hired by the law firm,
but the exact amount was not revealed.
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Regional
chairman Cooke said he expects the bill may hit $2
million by the end of the five-day hearings scheduled
to start on November 27. We suspect it will be much
higher than that.
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When
Mr. Estrin came back to council in November 1999, he had
been in court exactly one day — an early November procedural
hearing. The decision in this initial hearing was not released
until two weeks after Mr. Estrin's November appearance at
council, and the decision did not favour Mr. Estrin and
the Region. The Region appealed the decision and together
with some other procedural matters spent several more days
in court in February, March, April and May. In all of these
appearances, the Region was represented by at least two
lawyers and sometimes three (at several hundred dollars
an hour each).
Starting in June, the prolonged process of cross-examining
each witness began. The original schedule called for twenty-two
days, but that number is rising steadily, with some witnesses
already scheduled for re-appearances. The Region's lawyers
have introduced dozens of new documents with nearly every
witness they have examined. For example, Mr. Estrin introduced
85 new exhibits in his cross-examination of just one federal
witness.
Of course, all of this is costing local taxpayers immense
amounts. On August 9, Mr. Estrin was back to Regional Council
for another $524,000, bringing the total bill to $1.7 million
(i.e. more than 17 times higher than his maximum estimate
a year earlier). Regional chairman Cooke said he expects
the bill may hit $2 million by the end of the five-day hearings
scheduled to start on November 27. We suspect it will be
much higher than that.
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