Police spokeswoman Laura Brabant confirmed Tuesday that the force’s economic crime unit has launched an investigation. “The investigation is in its early stages and we will not comment on details at this time, so as not to jeopardize the investigation,” she told the Canadian Press. The investigation comes after Unifor announced on Monday that it had handed over to the Toronto police the amount that the complainant handed over to the union after it was allegedly given to the person by Jerry Dias on January 20th. Unifor said the complainant claimed that Dias had received $ 50,000 and given the person $ 25,000, saying it was from the supplier of the test kit. Unifor declined to name the supplier, and Dias pledged to enter a post-incident remediation facility. “It is now up to the Toronto police to decide whether to investigate any matter related to this money and Unifor has no role to play in that decision,” Unifor said in a statement Monday. Union spokeswoman Kathleen O’Keefe did not say what happened to Dias’s share of the money. Unifor, which said it was acting on the advice of a legal adviser on the delivery of the money, said it would not comment further on the matter. The union said Dias was accused of violating the code of ethics and democratic practices of the union’s statutes. A hearing before the national executive council will take place as early as this month. Dias has long been the face of Unifor. He led the union since 2013 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2019. He had a reputation for being tough, messy and willing to push everyone, from top companies to politicians, to act in the interests of employees. He was a key figure in the negotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and successfully encouraged General Motors Canada to reopen a plant in Oshawa, invest up to $ 1.3 billion and hire up to 1,700 employees after planned to close the facility. Dias was briefed on the union’s independent inquiry into the matter on January 29 and launched a medical leave on February 6 citing “ongoing health problems”. About a month later, the union announced that it was retiring, before adding the following day that it was under investigation. In addition to a period of detoxification, Dias said he would temporarily retire from all his counseling positions due to the use of painkillers, sleeping pills and alcohol to treat a sciatic nerve problem. “These factors have hurt my judgment in recent months and I owe it to our members to seek the treatment I need,” he said. “My doctor told me directly that I needed help.” This Canadian Press report was first published on April 5, 2022.
