William Hourigan, seen in 2022, spent more than a decade as a judge at the Ontario Court of Appeal and led the 2022 public inquiry into the Ottawa light-rail transit system.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
A retired Ontario Court of Appeal judge has been appointed to examine the potential for corruption and data snooping within more than 40 police services in the province, after the Project South investigation that led to charges against seven Toronto Police Service officers.
William Hourigan, a business lawyer at Bennett Jones, was announced Thursday as Ontario’s external inspector of police integrity and anti-corruption practices. Mr. Hourigan spent more than a decade as a judge at the Ontario Court of Appeal and led the 2022 public inquiry into the Ottawa light-rail transit system.
York Regional Police announced dozens of arrests in February connected to an investigation into corruption within Toronto’s police force, including the seven officers, a retired officer and civilians.
The allegations in the case, which have not been proven, include that some of the officers used police databases to obtain information that was later used by organized-crime figures to plan extortion, shootings and a murder plot against a corrections officer.
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These charges prompted the province’s Inspector-General of Policing, Ryan Teschner, to announce that he would hire an outside official to conduct a systemic review of all forces and boards.
Mr. Hourigan’s terms of reference, published on Thursday, say that the review will look at police-officer screening, supervision and substance abuse. It will also look at evidence management and how to safeguard law-enforcement databases “to prevent misuse and detect early warning signs of corruption.”
Experts lauded the appointment as kick-starting a process that they said could have lasting effects on the culture of policing in the province.
“I think this has the potential to be an inquiry with teeth,” said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor who once served on an RCMP advisory board.
“This is about restoring public confidence and having best practices.”
Larissa Pereira, a spokeswoman for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, said the police brass will work with the retired judge to give him the information he needs.
OACP president Chief Mark Campbell said in a statement: “We have full confidence in Mr. Hourigan and are committed to supporting this process.”
Toronto’s police union had publicly criticized the planned review for being overly broad, while suggesting that it could cast all police officers in a poor light.
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However, after Thursday’s announcement, and conversations with the people now presiding over the review, Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said he is more optimistic that the review will focus on systemic policing issues.
“After speaking with Inspector-General Teschner and Mr. Hourigan this morning, the TPA is confident that the association and its members will be included in this work,” Mr. Campbell said in an e-mail.
Mr. Hourigan was appointed to Ontario’s appellate court in 2013. During his time on the Ontario court, he conducted an independent Alberta investigation regarding the Edmonton Police Commission before he retired from the bench last year.
He arrives to his new job with the legal authority from the Inspector-General to issue binding direction and acquire documents from Ontario’s police services and police boards. By law, police entities are required to co-operate with him. He can make site visits and conduct interviews as required.
“This inspection is the first of its kind in Canada, both in its scale and in its focus on system‑wide police integrity and anti‑corruption risks,” Mr. Teschner said in a statement.
“I determined it was necessary to appoint an external inspector with experience leading large‑scale, independent public investigations and inquiries to ensure this work is conducted with the focus and rigour it requires.”