The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has filed a $6-million lawsuit that accuses former executives of using union funds to help purchase a sprawling property in Ottawa that was then rented to the union at a premium.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Mr. Almeida and Mr. Gambiroza did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Gabay’s lawyer, Alex Minkin of Rudner Law, told The Globe and Mail in a statement that his client had no comment on the matter. According to the lawsuit, the union had indeed expressed interest in the past in purchasing the property because it needed more space for its regional office and wanted to avoid renting indefinitely.
OPSEU says it has since learned that the deposits and down payment for the property – a total of $684,000 – actually came from union funds. Between 2019 and 2022, according to the lawsuit, JG Design billed OPSEU for approximately $1.6-million in consulting services that OPSEU claims were not legitimate.
In a statement, OPSEU president JP Hornick said that, because the union had commenced legal action, it was limited in terms of what it could say publicly. “However, our commitment to fight for our members and build a stronger union remains unshakeable,” the statement said. Mr. Thomas and Mr. Gabay, according to OPSEU, allegedly withdrew almost $700,000 in cash from a strike fund and received “significant compensation” from the union that they were not entitled to. OPSEU also accused the men of transferring union-owned vehicles to themselves and their family members.