Public hearings for the judicial inquiry into the sale of 50 per cent of Collus in 2012 will begin in April.
According to an announcement posted on the judicial inquiry website, the first public hearings will include part one (Collus share sale) and part two (the recreation facility) with hearings on part three of the inquiry – the policy phase – commencing in June.
Public hearings will take place from April 15 to 18, April 22 to 25, April 29 to May 3, May 13-17 and May 21-24.
The policy phase hearings are expected to take place on June 10, 11, and 12. Hearings will take place in the town hall council chambers with times to be announced closer to the date. The meetings will be live-streamed by Rogers TV.
According to the website, the inquiry counsel has been meeting with the lawyers representing the other parties with standing to focus on document production, and key documents and witnesses.
The deadline for participants to submit documents is Jan. 8, 2019.
At last report, there were about 400,000 documents submitted to the inquiry counsel for review and processing.
“Once all the documents are received, the Inquiry will determine which documents are needed for the public hearings,” states the website announcement. “Counsel to the Inquiry will identify necessary witnesses and prepare statements with those witnesses, so the participants will know what to expect on the hearing days.”
In a case where a participant declines to produce a document by claiming solicitor-client privilege, the claim may be brought before an independent decision maker for a resolution. This will be done before the public hearings.
