RHVP inquiry has already cost $3M and public hearings aren't expected until 2021

The Red Hill Valley Parkway (RHVP) inquiry has already cost more than $3 million, and it still hasn't received all of the documents needed to hold a public hearing.

The hearing isn't expected to begin until 2021 now, said commission counsel Rob Centa during an update Tuesday morning.

Document collection has been the holdup, with lawyers representing various parties in the inquiry explaining the efforts their employers have gone through to sort through troves of reports and data to find all of the relevant material.

Still, Commissioner Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel chided them for how much time has passed.

"I'm disappointed [that] more than 14 months after the commencement of inquiry, we're still in the position where there's documentation to be delivered," he said.

"I think it's important we just get on with the task as quickly as possible."

Council voted for a judicial inquiry last March following the discovery of a 2013 Tradewind Scientific report which had previously not been made public. The report found asphalt friction on some areas of the RHVP fell well below UK safety standards.

Last January, city council said it hadn't seen the report. It was found, the city said, in a locked computer folder after a new director of engineering was hired. The city hired Wilton-Siegel to get to the bottom of it by answering 24 questions.

City lawyer Eli Lederman told the inquiry on Tuesday that Hamilton's team had flagged some three million documents before narrowing them down to more than 50,000 that were relevant.

He cited some technical difficulty, but said the remaining data should be provided to the city by next Monday.

"The city remains committed to this inquiry and ensuring that it moves forward in a transparent fashion, and in an expeditious and cost-effective way as well."

Wilton-Siegel responded saying while he appreciates the size of the task the city is wrestling with and the fact the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't made it any easier, they have a responsibility to respond.

"The city called this inquiry, and it was therefore the city's obligation or expectation it would deploy the necessary resources to deliver the documentation … in a timely fashion," the commissioner explained.

The update follows a report provided to the city's general issues committee Monday that said the cost of the inquiry to date is $3,114,391.60.

That report acknowledged document production has taken longer than expected, but argued that given the volume of documents, logistical issues and people involved, the city's timing is still "reasonable."

Lawyers for Dufferin Construction Company and Golder Associates Ltd. said they have already provided nearly all their material, with Dufferin saying it needs until July 24 to send along a "handful" of outstanding documents.

Legal representatives for the province, meanwhile, pointed to difficulties with transferring large volumes of information, but said Ontario should be able to provide most of the relevant documents by the end of the month.

Public forum delayed until fall

The inquiry has received more than 74,000 documents to date, according to Centa. Once the data is collected, staff will review it to find gaps and build a background of the situation which they will supply experts for their input.

Centa said it's too early to say what public health guidelines will look like by the time the public hearings can begin, but said the inquiry is already looking into ways to host the remotely or in a safe, physically distant way.

Plans are also underway to host a forum for people personally affected by the RHVP and crashes. It was initially set for spring and summer, but Centa said it will now take place sometime in the fall.