The lawyer for a computer consultant under investigation at the Toronto computer leasing inquiry yesterday unleashed a strongly worded attack on what he called lax financial and accounting practises at City Hall.

Lawyer Brian Heller, who has been recognized to speak or granted standing, stood up at the inquiry yesterday to request that Boll Hsu & Associates Inc. be granted standing after council voted to include it and its dealings with the city in the terms of reference for the public inquiry.

Madame Justice Denise Bellamy granted the Scarborough computer consulting company that standing after hearing from Heller that the decision to include the company in the terms of reference, or the instructions council gives the inquiry into what they should look into, created a substantial interest. Heller further argued the inquiry would show that Ball Hsu has consistently delivered value for money and operated within the terms of its contracts.

The company has had numerous dealings with various Toronto information technology projects including municipal elections software roll outs, Y2K compliance efforts and mainframe software upgrades, as well as the plan to relocate city employees across the megacity.

"We anticipate that evidence before this inquiry will speak to persistent problems with the City of Toronto's financial, accounting and accounts payable systems, procedures and practises, including loss of invoices; misplacement of work schedules and, non-existent or failed efforts to retrieve documents supporting its transactions with Ball Hsu and Associates Inc.," Heller said.

He said Ball Hsu's simple inclusion in the terms of reference of the inquiry has harmed its reputation. But he said they hoped to fully co-operate.

"We anxiously await the time that the cloud of suspicion created by their mere inclusion in this inquiry is removed," he said.

"Their reputation in the business community has been profoundly affected, and though we don't expect to get it here, we want the City of Toronto to say 'We're sorry.'"

Also granted standing at the inquiry was the Dell Computer Corporation; the City of Toronto; former Toronto treasurer Wanda Liczyk and with limited standing, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79.

The hearing for standing marks the beginning of the expanded phase of the Toronto computer leasing inquiry - the external contracts inquiry. Council decided to add that section of the inquiry at its meeting at the beginning of October.

Initially, Toronto Council was just looking into two leasing deals with MFP Financial Services for desktop computers and software licenses. That inquiry was halted after Bellamy voted to call in the OPP to investigate allegations that had arisen during their pre-hearing investigations.

Council voted to enlarge the inquiry shortly after that to include Ball Hsu, as well as contracts with two U.S. companies - Beacon Software Revenue Systems and Remarkable Software Inc., who designed a property tax billing system for the City of Toronto and before that the former city of North York.

Bellamy told the inquiry yesterday that the two inquiries would be dovetailed into a single report.

However, it will be some time before the public hearing begins into the external contracts. The computer leasing portion of the inquiry is scheduled to resume Dec. 2.

Inside Toronto

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2002