Brampton mayor calls out 'witch hunt' in response to city audit

Calls for an investigation into how Brampton's municipal government spends millions of taxpayer dollars have resurfaced, after a routine audit revealed a lack of accountability and transparency while awarding contracts. 

The internal audit report, produced by city staff and dated Feb. 6, shows sole-source contracts totalling millions were awarded without key documents needed to justify the purchases. 

The audit, which the city is mandated to perform every five years, also raises alarms about the fact the city didn't take conflicts of interest into consideration with sole-source contracts — "leading to potential oversight in managing the relevant risks."

The findings have not been discussed at any subsequent council meetings, and Mayor Patrick Brown dismissed questions about a possible investigation into the irregularities, instead calling it a "political[ly]-driven witch hunt" in a statement to CBC Toronto. 

"That's peculiar," said Zachary Spicer, an associate professor of public policy and administration at York University. 

"Residents ought to know about where the taxpayer money is going," he said. "No politician should be resisting such investigations."

Former councillor Jeff Bowman called council's efforts to shut down past investigations "a total cover up," one he says continues to pave the way for irregularities in procurement processes and possible conflicts of interest.

During his eight years as a councillor, Bowman voted in favour of launching investigations into potentially problematic procurement practices, and he helped lead a steering committee that chose third-party investigators to dig deeper.

After investigations into BramptonU, the appointment of integrity commissioner Muneeza Sheikh and the procurement of COVID-19 supplies were cancelled, among others, Bowman implored Queen's Park to intervene and complained to the provincial ombudsman.

"The evidence that was in those reports has been sort of brushed under the carpet and never to be seen again," Bowman said. 

In his statement, Brown said he's been "cleaning up" since taking office. 

"We are now ensuring nepotism is not permitted at city hall and I appointed Coun. Keenan to chair the audit committee to make sure all government work goes out to tender in a transparent and competitive manner," he said.

The city's internal audit department analyzed 16 sole-source procurements from September 2023 and found that four were missing key documents or contained incorrect documents. Nonetheless, staff proceeded with the nearly $900,000 in contracts.

None of the contracts included declarations of potential conflict of interest, which are not required by city bylaws for limited tendering or non-competitive sole-source contracts.