The OPP have charged a pair of Toronto city councillors with alleged violations to the municipal act, connected to the 2014 election.
Justin Di Ciano, and Mark Grimes will both be in court on December 19th.
Di Ciano did not run for reelection in the most recent vote, but Grimes did, and won in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He also had the endorsement of Toronto Mayor John Tory.
There had been an investigation into both, after it was alleged that they may have had polling and research done, and paid for by a developer. Neither allegedly filed it as a campaign expense.
Lawyer Peter Brauti has been retained by Mark Grimes, and issued the following statement:
It has been incorrectly reported that Mark Grimes could lose his office as a result of allegations connected to an O.P.P. investigation. These allegations relate to a previous election, which means that Councillor Grimes is not in jeopardy of losing his position as a City Councillor. Councillor Grimes has done nothing wrong. An allegation has been made that he should have made additional financial disclosure for his campaign from 4 years ago. No such disclosure was required. There is no credible evidence to support the allegation which was made for political purposes.
Scott K. Fenton represents Justin Di Ciano:
Our client looks forward to setting the record straight on any alleged clerical errors in his 2014 campaign expense return. The real offence here is the extraordinary waste of scarce government resources spent chasing down minor alleged oversights regarding a long-forgotten municipal election campaign.
Scott K. Fenton
Toronto Mayor John Tory released the following statement:
"This morning, the Ontario Provincial Police announced Councillors Mark Grimes and Justin Di Ciano are both facing a charge under the Municipal Elections Act for allegedly filing a document that is incorrect or does not otherwise comply in relation to their 2014 election campaigns.
These matters are now before the courts where both councillors have publicly said they will challenge these allegations. For that reason, I will be making no further comment at this time."