Brenner responds to Council discussion

Questions why investigation went as far as it did
Thu Sep 20, 2007

PICKERING -- Former City councillor Maurice Brenner said the privacy issue that arose during Monday's Council discussion regarding himself really stood out to him as he watched from home.

"That (privacy) was one that personally I always find very interesting because it's a matter of people's rights and that part of it was something I guess I probably tuned into even more," he said.

He said the issue is not just about himself, but the way in which people expect to be treated in terms of privacy. The topic arose in regard to the fact that journalist Dale Goldhawk somehow got his hands on Mr. Brenner's expenses, which started the investigation.

Durham Regional Police charged Mr. Brenner with breach of trust by a public officer and two counts each of fraud under $5,000 and utter forged document, but the charges were dismissed in June at the Ontario Court of Justice. Ward 1 City Councillor Jennifer O'Connell requested a report on what really transpired. What stood out most to Mr. Brenner included why Council as a body was never made aware of the charges until it went public and rights of privacy.

In regard to Mayor Dave Ryan's suggestion that Mr. Brenner could have brought concerns to Council if he felt he was improperly being investigated, Mr. Brenner said it wasn't his job to go to Council because the investigation was about him, and that could have obstructed matters.
"It wasn't for me to question it," he said. "It was for me to cooperate with the process and for whoever was doing the process to do what they had to do, or what they thought they had to do."

Mr. Brenner said after he was approached by Mr. Goldhawk, he reported it to the City, and was advised to leave the matter alone. It was then that the director of corporate services and treasurer Gil Paterson conducted his own due diligence review by calling the woman named on the secretarial services invoices in question. Mr. Paterson testified in court that he was satisfied with the phone call, and Mr, Brenner wonders why the investigation continued even after Mr. Paterson reviewed it.