Auditor general trying to evade court process through Speaker's warrant, lawyers for Laurentian say

New court filings by Laurentian University say Ontario's auditor general is trying to do an end run around the courts by having the provincial legislature force it to surrender privileged documents.

Laurentian is seeking to quash a Speaker's warrant that would force them to hand over the documents.

The school is currently in a court battle with Bonnie Lysyk over access to the confidential information, and who she can interview. Lysyk is auditing the university to determine why it declared insolvency under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act on Feb. 1, 2021.

Lawyers for both sides appeared before Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz in early December. At issue is whether language in Ontario's Auditor General Act gives Lysyk the right to access any documents during an audit, including privileged information.

Before Morawetz could issue a decision, however, the province's Standing Committee on Public Accounts passed a motion for a Speaker's warrant, requiring LU to hand over all the documents Lysyk wants.

"Having changed her mind twice about whether she even needed privileged information, the auditor general asked this court to determine whether she was legally permitted to access it," said the factum from Laurentian's lawyers.

"Days later, however, she began secretly working with the committee to circumvent that very process. While her application was pending – even while this court had its decision under reserve – the committee was making her demands their own. The committee’s intention is to give her the information produced, regardless of this court’s ruling on whether she has the right to access it."

The court filing said while Lysyk participated in the court process with Morawetz, she also headed to the committee to get the documents, regardless of the ruling.

She met with the committee behind closed doors on Oct. 6.

"While there is apparently no transcript or recording of the meeting, the auditor general evidently told the committee that she was not obtaining certain documents and information, and the committee resolved to get them for her," the transcript said.

"Laurentian had no notice that the auditor general was reporting to the committee, and no opportunity to participate or respond. Then, the committee concealed its decision from Laurentian for nine days until it was delivered, late in the evening of Oct. 15, only hours after Laurentian had served its responding material in the auditor general’s application, in accordance with the litigation timetable agreed to and endorsed by Chief Justice Morawetz."

Further, the committee invited LU's administration to appear before them Dec. 1, but hours before that appearance, Lysyk released her annual report that strongly criticized Laurentian's response to her audit.

"Laurentian had no opportunity to review or comment on a draft of this report before it was released, despite the auditor general’s repeated claims that she always works 'cooperatively' and allows audit subjects such an opportunity," the transcript said.

To allow the Speaker's warrant to be enforced would not only cause Laurentian "irreparable harm," Laurentian's lawyers said, it exceeds the limit of Parliamentary privilege.

"Because of the irreversible and potentially dire consequences of producing the information, the warrants should be stayed pending a judicial determination of whether they fall within the scope of an applicable Parliamentary privilege," the court filing said.

Read the full transcript here.