Editorial
The Law Society recently announced that it had stripped the licence to practice law because of misconduct on the part of Sault Ste.Marie lawyer Tim Harmar. If that name rings a bell it is because as a member of the Wishart Law firm he represented MV in the unsuccessful defence of The Current’s abuse of power legal action.
This news prompted the publication of a searing (anonymous) exposé of alleged misconduct and improper fee generation on the part of Wisharts and MV’s former Integrity Commissioner, E4m. The Current, together with many other news organisations, was sent a copy of the exposé identifying 15 other municipalities in Northern and Eastern Ontario which, it argues, were ripped off by Wisharts/E4m. The main culprit was alleged to be Wisharts partner, Paul Cassan. That name will also ring a bell because it was he who triggered the attack on The Current back in 2019 which provided us with the grounds for our legal claim.
Significantly for MV residents, the exposé commences with a detailed spotlight on the attack on The Current and on Cassan’s and Harmar’s leading roles. It provides an accurate summary of what transpired in the litigation confirming that its sources included Court and other public records. It contains the following statement:
“Rather than Mr. Cassan act in the best interests of the organisation acknowledging his misstatement and accept a simple correction plus a minimal charitable $500 donation, the Township chose a path of full litigation. That choice carried no practical upper limit on public cost and allowed Mr. Cassan to litigate his own legal error.”
Longtime readers may also recall that our articles on the Court decisions in our favour and the grotesque legal costs charged by Wisharts prompted residents and elected officials from other municipalities to contact us with similar complaints against the Wisharts/E4m “partnership.” The exposé’s revelations and accusations concerning many other communities did not therefore come as a surprise to us.
The Current contacted the author(s) of the exposé seeking to learn their identity. In response we were provided with reasons why anonymity was considered appropriate which we accept as being valid under all the circumstances. We have also forwarded to the same media services additional information that was revealed in the legal proceedings that is relevant to Wisharts’ overall conduct.
We also forwarded a copy to MV Council and CAO Klatt suggesting, again, that it take advice on what legal or regulatory remedies it may have on behalf of ratepayers stemming from this conduct. We also asked it to comment on the overall implications of the exposé. To date no response has been received but this may be explained by the holiday season.
It remains to be seen whether any of the other media services who were recipients of the exposé pick up the threads and provide much more widespread coverage of these serious issues which surely the province-wide public interest demands. The Current forwarded a copy of it to both the Valley Gazette and The Eganville Leader, but for reasons previously reported we are not holding our breath that they will deem it to be newsworthy for MV residents.
Image at top: Wishart Law website
Editor’s Note: We will keep readers advised of any and all developments. Given this is an election year, we will also be using the exposé and any fall out to discuss these events in the context of MV’s appalling record of municipal governance, the reporting of which motivated its longstanding vendetta against The Current.
Since 2019 I have been documenting the history of Arthur Wishart, as he got his start in Blind River, where his firm and Paul Cassan still dominate. I hope your latest article will inspire upwards of 75 townships who may have been harmed by the firm and their affiliates to open their eyes, come together to share their experiences and act accordingly. Thank you Mad Valley Current for your article Aug 16 2026!
I concur with Roger Prince’s comments above. This circling of the wagons approach rather than owning up to improper conduct has tarnished council’s reputation from the start and it seems to me that, to some degree, the lack of accountability has still lingered in subsequent councils.
It’s a very sad decline for Wishart Law LLP. The firm was founded in 1900 in Sault Ste Marie and its principal from 1938 to 1985 was Arthur Wishart, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Consumer Affairs, etc at Queen’s Park from 1961 to 1985. He was a very prominent government official in that era and sponsored some quite important legislation, including better regulation of franchises and apparently he also introduced the first Condominiums Act and a lot of other useful stuff. Unfortunately the leadership of a once illustrious law-firm has fallen into some greedy and grasping hands. Every muncipality should hire its own lawyer and small ones like MVT, should hire only a lawyer to be their clerk-treasurer. Teachers and librarians and social workers all need professional qualifications and every muncipality also needs a professionally qualified employee to provide in-house legal advice. Even a newly graduated lawyer with a specialization in general civil practice and municipal law would be much better than getting legal advice from unqualified employees and they would also protect municipalities from being gouged by greedy lawyers in private practice. Much of what municipaliites do involves legislation and by-laws etc and it’s absurd not to have the guidance of a properly qualified in-house lawyer in these activities. No one would do a property conveyance without a lawyer and a municipal Council should not be passing by-laws etc without the guidance of an in-house lawyer for the same reason. Tylo moje dwi-grosze wôrtnotë! / EMC
All of us should be respectful of other’s opinions, agree to disagree is appropriate. What is not appropriate is the abuse of power and lack of transparency by elected officials. Members of this council and administration pursued a course of action inflicting a heavy financial burden on our taxpayers and community in a frivolous defence to a lawsuit, rather than a simple apology and a $500 donation to our local hospital. We should expect better from elected officials.