The Pointer has obtained documents through a freedom of information investigation that show the City quietly awarded $218,000 worth of contracts, without council approval, to a man named Tony Quirk who worked closely with Brampton’s CAO, David Barrick, when they were part of a cabal of Conservative Niagara Region politicians embroiled in a series of controversies.
Mayor Patrick Brown, who oversaw the hiring of Barrick, has political ties to both men.
The hiring of the City’s chief administrative officer and director of strategic communications, two high-level positions filled after Patrick Brown became mayor in 2018, remains shrouded in secrecy.
The Ontario ombudsman found the winning candidates, prior to their arrival at Brampton City Hall, had been complicit in the fraudulent Niagara “Inside Job” scandal, meanwhile key questions around their hiring in Brampton shortly after remain unanswered.
A short-sighted and outdated pandemic recovery plan under Doug Ford could cause environmental damage for decades to come. A new report by Environmental Defence highlights Ontario’s broken climate promises, noting emissions rose in 2018 for the first time in years.
