Toronto area firefighter agrees to pay union more than $4M amid allegations of money misappropriation

TORONTO -- A Toronto area firefighter has agreed to pay the Ontario Professional Firefighters Association (OPFFA) more than $4 million after allegations were brought forward that donations intended for families of firefighters injured or killed on the job had been misappropriated.

The results of a settlement reached in mediation were disclosed to OPFFA members in a memo, which was obtained by CTV News Toronto, dated March 19.

The allegations stem from a 2015 complaint that prompted an internal investigation into the donations, which the OPFFA say were diverted to a corporation called Professional Firefighters Advocates Inc.

Over the course of their investigation, the OPFFA told police that several large donations made by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board occupational disease claimants between May 12, 2011 and Feb. 26, 2014 were never received.

In 2016, the OPFFA launched a civil case against firefighters Paul Atkinson, of Newmarket and Colin Grieve of Stoney Creek, the Professional Firefighters Advocates Inc., as well as two others.

According to the memo sent to OPFFA members, the association claimed damages “for civil conspiracy, breach of trust, inducing breach of contract, intentional interference with economic relations, unjust enrichment, and passing off, as well as punitive damages.”

The OPFFA said they lost “potentially millions of dollars” as a result of the misappropriated donations.

Halton Regional Police laid criminal charges against Atkinson and Grieve in Feb. 2017, including fraud, but the charges were later stayed “because of the unreasonable delay in prosecuting the case,” the OPFFA said.

In February 2021, the parties involved entered mediation and a settlement was reached with Atkinson and Professional Firefighters Advocates.

According to the memo, ”Atkinson and Professional Firefighters Advocates Inc. will consent to a judgment in favour of the OPFFA in the amount of $4,082,336, and costs to the OPFFA of $750,000.”

Atkinson will pay the OPFFA through the sale of his assets, including two investment properties, the memo indicated.

Reached Tuesday by phone Atkinson said he couldn't talk about the settlement. "I have my personal reasons for doing it. They’re my reasons, and they don’t belong to anyone else. But I never admitted to anything," he told CTV News Toronto.

Meanwhile, Atkinson still has a job as a Toronto firefighter and is campaigning in YouTube videos to be the president of the Toronto Firefighter's Association.

A settlement has not been reached with Grieve, but the OPFFA said they hope to have those claims dealt with by November.

“We will continue to vigorously pursue the claims against Grieve and, if judgment is granted, enforce the judgment against all of Grieve’s assets,” the letter reads. “We expect to have the OPFFA’s claims against Grieve determined by November 2021.”