Conclusion. What Went Wrong

• Author: C. Ian Kyer
• Pages: 177-187

177

conclusion

What Went Wrong

M   Jarvis bond transaction seems anomal-

ous. First and foremost is the lack of a formal written

agreement. The Jarvis proposal and covering letter where

the key f‌inancial terms were set out in a postscript stand in stark con-

trast to today’s very detailed agreements. Also of note is the lack of a

formal bidding process for the work. Then there is the appointment of

the inexperienced A.H. Pepall as an agent of the Ontario government

at a time when he had a referral arrangement with Jarvis & Company.

Finally, there is the government’s lack of due diligence in setting the

agreed-upon prices. But the times were dif‌ferent. The government

was very inexperienced, and, most importantly, none of these anom-

alies were crimes.

To understand what went wrong, we need to look at each stage of

the proceedings against Smith and Jarvis in turn.

The Investigation

The investigation got of‌f to a bad and very political start. It is accepted

practice for politicians to make allegations of incompetence, poor

judgment, and even corruption against a sitting government as part

of an election campaign. There was nothing surprising in Howard

Ferguson and his Conservatives having done so in 1923. Once elected,