Brampton mayor Susan Fennell violated city council rules when she approved the purchase of flight passes totalling $192,807, says the city’s new integrity commissioner.

That’s one finding of a report released Friday by Robert Swayze, the lawyer who was appointed as Brampton’s integrity commissioner in July after an explosive forensic audit by Deloitte Canada that found Fennell broke municipal rules by spending thousands on business class airfare tickets and premium hotel rooms.

The Deloitte audit had uncovered $131,581 of expenses that it said Fennell and her staff had improperly billed to the municipality, and $155,952 of charges that may have breached rules, including a roughly $50,000-per-year limousine service.

Swayze focused on travel expenses in his investigation of Fennell: "I find that the Mayor has violated the [Council Code of Conduct] by knowingly over-spending on her business travel on multiple occasions with the intention to upgrade to business class contrary to City policy.”

He outlined how the mayor bought eight Air Canada Latitude flight passes between 2008 and 2013 that allowed flights to be upgraded from economy to business class. One such pass offered credits for 30 one-way flights within North America for $28,260, or $942 per one-way flight.

The mayor told Swayze that passes might cost less than standard flights, because of the potential for costly flight change or cancellation fees that arise due to her “frenetic schedule.”

In the report, Swayze said Fennell would not disclose how often she or her staff had upgraded to business class using the passes. However, Swayze wrote in the report, “I believe that this level of pass was purchased by the Mayor or her staff with her approval solely because they are freely upgradeable to business class.”

City expense rules require economy airfare used on all flights less than five hours in duration.

The report also found that Fennell upgraded hotel rooms to prices that contravened limits, including a $369-per-night room in Victoria, B.C. in 2009 that she said was needed for meeting space. Swayze wrote that he did not have enough information, “as to whether the extra cost was justified to find that the Code was violated in this respect.”

Swayze also ruled Friday that Brampton councillor Bob Callahan inappropriately expensed Law Society and local law association fees, and that John Hutton, another councillor, should not have expensed four magazines and tickets to the Rose Theatre.

Fennell will face Brampton Councillor John Sanderson and former Liberal MPP Linda Jeffrey in the Oct. 27 municipal election. Hutton is running for a Peel Region seat.