Federal prosecutors say as many as 30 ongoing criminal cases may be adversely affected by Project South, the bombshell corruption probe that led to charges against seven active Toronto police officers.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) confirmed that it will be reviewing the cases in the wake of the allegations.
“The PPSC will review approximately 30 potentially affected cases individually to determine whether it is in the public interest to continue prosecution and whether there is a prospect of conviction based on the available evidence,” the PPSC said in statement provided to CP24.
Back in February, York Regional Police announced the results of Project South, a police corruption probe that investigators allege uncovered bribery, drug trafficking, and a murder plot against a manager at an Ontario correctional facility.
Const. Timothy Barnhardt, who is one of the eight active and retired Toronto officers charged in Project South, faces 17 charges, the most of any of the officers arrested in the investigation.
In a statement, Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell said it is too soon to know what the impact of Project South will be on future criminal cases.
“We can say that if any of the allegations in Project South are found to be true and serious charges against violent offenders are withdrawn as a result, we suspect there will be many members of the Toronto Police Service who will be very disappointed that their hard work was for nothing,” the statement by the police union president read.
When asked about how the probe could impact provincial cases, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said it would be “inappropriate to comment” as there are “related matters before the court.”
The allegations against the officers have sparked an independent inspection of police corruption in the province.
Ryan Teschner, Ontario’s inspector of general policing, has appointed former Ontario judge William Hourigan to lead an independent provincewide inspection, which will cover all 45 police forces in the province.
With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman, Bryann Aguilar, and The Canadian Press
