Walbourne trial: Court hears probe into Dimini message

After a week of tense testimony, the Crown presented its last piece of evidence in the trial of former TBPS legal counsel Holly Walbourne for breach of trust and obstruction of justice.

In April 2021, Tribunals Ontario initiated an investigation into senior members of the TBPS after former police board chair Georjann Morriseau’s claims of misconduct during “The HomeSense Investigation“. They assigned Ian Scott of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission to interview people of interest within the force.

Former police chief Sylvie Hauth resigned on January 27, 2023, after being served a suspension for her role in this case. She is scheduled to stand trial on criminal charges in three weeks.

Former police chief Sylvie Hauth (left) and former police board chair Georjann Morriseau (file photo)

Nearly four hours of Ian Scott’s interviews with Holly Walbourne came before court on Thursday and Friday.

The Crown is looking to prove that Walbourne was aware of a criminal investigation into former board chair Georjann Morriseau before December 9, 2020, and lied to Scott about that knowledge in her interviews with him.

03/22/22 OCPC interview: Scott seeks clarity on initial Dimini investigation

All statements attributed to Walbourne are drawn from her March 22, 2022 interview with OCPC investigator Ian Scott.

This is the first (and likely only) time we hear then-Constable Michael Dimini’s text probed in detail in this case. Dimini was the owner of the police phone that received a message from civilian reporter Brian Webster that ultimately sparked the HomeSense Investigation into Morriseau’s improper handling of related gossip.

The text read:

“Hey Mike, I see they are thanking members of the Thunder Bay Police in their bust announcement. Any anonymous info about what hardworking TBPS officers did?”

Ian Scott said that, per his notes, Dimini’s position was that he was attempting to cultivate Webster as a confidential informant. Scott remarked to Walbourne, “the most unusual informant in the entire world, but there you have it.”

Walbourne told Scott she did not know whether Dimini was attempting to cultivate Webster as a confidential informant. However, she said that herself, Deputy Chief Ryan Hughes, and Constable Dimini had a “very casual” conversation about leaks to Webster, during which Dimini remarked that he “could see what (he) could do” and suggested he might build a relationship with Webster.

Scott told Walbourne that he “hasn’t seen a single shred of paper which says that Dimini had the authority to try and cultivate this relationship, but [he’s] not saying it didn’t happen.” Walbourne said that she cannot speak to that.

Dimini was not charged for the Brian Webster text. In February 2026, Dimini was found guilty on separate breach of trust and obstruction of justice charges stemming from unlawful residential searches and arrests in November 2020.

It’s important to note that Walbourne is not on trial for any investigation into Dimini, nor for an improper investigation into Morriseau for gossiping about the text, but rather for downplaying her involvement in the Morriseau investigation in official documents and interviews.

Walbourne’s meeting at Morriseau’s home

Walbourne said that when she went to Morriseau’s house on September 23, 2020, she told her there was an investigation into the leaks and that Dimini had been questioned. Morriseau again could not identify the HomeSense officer that shared the text with her.

TBPS Detective Rob Gombola had closed the internal Police Services Act case (a non-criminal investigation) into the HomeSense incident on September 8. Walbourne told Scott that she was not aware the case was closed during this meeting at Morriseau’s house, and was operating under the assumption that it was active.

She said the thought had “crossed her mind” that Morriseau was lying about not knowing the identity of the HomeSense officer who gossiped about Webster’s text to Dimini. Walbourne said she did not express that belief to her and instead emphasized the importance of the investigation.

The internal investigation into the HomeSense incident was closed on September 8, but Walbourne said she did not know that at the time and believed it was still ongoing.

The possibility of Dimini cultivating civilian Brian Webster as a confidential informant was raised in this meeting, Walbourne told Scott. Per Walbourne’s notes from the meeting, Morriseau asked why Deputy Hughes would “throw Dimini under the bus if he knew what was happening”. Walbourne noted that she responded she didn’t think it was a matter of throwing him under the bus, rather the deputy was used to policing culture which involves rumors and gossip, and she did not think there was any malice involved.

“I think once the meeting at my house (with Walbourne) took place, I was feeling more and more that there’s something else happening in the background here in terms of why I am continually being interrogated,” Morriseau testified on Monday. “I felt like I had to watch my back everywhere I turn.”

Scott said that according to Walbourne’s notes, her recollection of the meeting with Morriseau was that it was quite cordial. Walbourne said she had a friendly relationship with Morriseau at the time. She also said other matters such as collective bargaining were discussed during her visit as well.

When did Walbourne know?

Walbourne said to Scott and alleged in Hauth’s October 2021 memo that her and Hauth did not know the Morriseau investigation was criminal in nature until December 9, 2020. This is the basis for her criminal proceedings, as the Crown is using evidence to try and prove that claim is false.

A summary of Ian Scott’s follow-up interview with Holly Walbourne on May 6, 2022 is available here.

None of the allegations against Walbourne or Sylvie Hauth have been proven in court.