Olivia Chow vows to ‘spare no expense’ to accomplish anti-corruption policing recommendations in wake of Project South revelations - Toronto Star

Toronto police chief said he has 'zero tolerance' for corruption within the force.

Mayor Olivia Chow committed to implementing the recommendations stemming from a province-wide investigation into police corruption a day after new allegations emerged about the Project South scandal that has rocked Toronto police.

Mayor Olivia Chow says the city will “spare no expense” in implementing the recommendations stemming from a provincewide investigation into police corruption.

“We will take action and make sure that the public trust is regained,” Chow said at an unrelated press conference on Thursday after the Star published newly unsealed details from court documents about the Project South investigation.

The allegations revealed new depths to one of the biggest corruption scandals in the city’s history, uncovering alleged ties to organized crime, drug dealing amongst officers, casual bribe-taking and flagrant misuse of police databases. 

The officer at the heart of the case, Const. Timothy Barnhardt, is accused of conspiring to open illegal weed dispensaries and erotic massage parlours, allegedly recruiting fellow officers to look the other way and put the squeeze on competitors in return for envelopes of cash.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

A thwarted assassination attempt of a jail official helped break open one of the biggest police corruption scandals in the city’s history.