A provincial bureaucrat fired after the alleged theft of $11 million in COVID-19 relief aid has been awarded $150,000 in legal costs by an Ontario court.
…. Madan was fired in the fall of 2020 as the $176,608-a-year computer leader on the Ministry of Education’s Support for Families initiative.
That program gave Ontario parents $200 per child under age 12 and $250 per child and youth under 21 with special needs to help with online schooling expenses early in the pandemic.
Last January, in civil court testimony that may not be used in the criminal case if it violates Charter-protected rights against self-incrimination, Madan admitted he “relaxed” computer security safeguards on the “free-flowing program” so additional payouts could be made to the same bank accounts.
“I thought there may be an opportunity to take the funds out … it looked like easy money for me,” he testified.
