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The aftermath of a contentious art-buying trip to Italy cost taxpayers more than the trip itself.
Parents, a Catholic teachers’ union and the provincial minister of education expressed shock after it was revealed four trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board spent around $120,000 for a summer trip to Europe to buy religious art for two new schools.
And the cost keeps on growing.
According to documents recently obtained through a Freedom-of-Information (FOI) request, those expenses currently sit at $187,522.82, with the new total now including fees spent on legal and communication advice to help manage the fallout from the trip.
Here’s the tally of trip expenses to date:
Legal Fees
Recent FOI documents obtained by The Spectator show the board spent $63,573.82 across seven invoices on legal advice in the aftermath of the trip — more than the cost of the trip itself.
The fees were all paid directly to Borden Ladner and Gervais, said Tracey Austin, manager of communications and community relations for the board.
The board has had “a long-standing relationship” with the law firm, which has handled “a great deal of legal” for the board over the past decade, including matters like human resources and real estate, trustee Rick Petrella told The Spectator in November.
The board reached out to them for advice “based on the situation,” he said.
Travel Expenses
The four trustees racked up $50,369 over a week on flights, accommodations and meals, according to earlier FOI documents The Spectator obtained.
The expenses included $28,000 on flights, more than $15,000 for hotels in both Italy and Germany, $510 for alcohol and a $1,610 meal tab — including a $308 tip — at a splashy restaurant.
The travel expenses were initially billed to taxpayers, but trustees vowed to pay back their individual shares to the board after scrutiny from the public and ministry.
Petrella, Bill Chopp and Dan Dignard each owe $12,666, and Mark Watson owes $12,370, according to a trustee expense statement presented at the Dec. 17 board meeting.
Austin confirmed the trustees on the trip have “an established schedule” to repay expenses “connected to the trip,” but did not tell The Spectator how much has been paid to date or what the timeline is for repayment.
Artwork
A shortlist of purchased art and associated costs previously received via FOI showed the board spent:
- $33,880 for sculptures representing the Christian stations of the cross;
- Nearly $17,000 for an artwork entitled “Cristo”;
- Around $10,000 each for large, hand-painted statues of Mary and St. Padre Pio;
- Around $2,700 for a cross or crucifix.
The board has since vowed to seek donations to offset the cost of the artwork. To date, no donations have been made, Austin said.
The board has said it “deeply regrets” the “events that have taken place” and assured parents “such incidents” won’t occur again, according to a statement former board chair Rick Petrella made shortly after the travel news broke.
A ministry-appointed reviewer is looking into the board’s financials and is expected to report his findings next month.
Celeste Percy-Beauregard’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about Brant County. Reach her at cpercybeauregard@torstar.ca.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca
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