CORNWALL – While overseeing eligibility for welfare, a supervisor admits she never was actually in the room when Kaila Warwick and her case worker went over her Ontario Works (OW) application.
Kendra Lalonde faced cross-examination Tuesday morning from defence lawyer William Webber.
Lalonde admitted that she was “not present during the interview” in June 2013 and can’t say whether Don Daugherty, the income maintenance officer, had read over the OW agreement with Warwick, including her rights and responsibilities to report all “income.”
Lalonde testified Daugherty should have followed “standard procedure” but she couldn’t be definitive about whether the procedure had actually been followed.
Warwick would later testify that Daugherty had “briefly went over the paperwork” and had “summarized (the agreement) in his own words” but didn’t give her a chance to review the documents she signed.
Webber went on to question Lalonde about the reporting of employment income from Warwick’s job at Ramada Inn.
Webber: “It would be fair to say that the majority of the 20 pays that she did receive from Ramada Inn were in fact declared by her?”
Lalonde: “That’s correct.”
Webber: “If a recipient emailed a pay stub that perhaps they had missed and the income maintenance officer, for whatever reason, didn’t put it in the file, would it appear from your perspective that it hadn’t been reported?”
Lalonde: “That’s correct.”
In another surprising development, court heard that Daugherty is gone from the Ontario Works office.
“I can confirm he’s no longer with our office,” Lalonde testified.
Judge Deborah Kinsella interrupted a question about what had happened to him, citing that it might been infringing on employee rights.
Kaila Warwick is facing five charges including two counts of fraud and two counts of uttering forged documents. She has plead not guilty to all charges.
She is accused of defrauding the welfare system of just over $13,640 between July 2013 and September 2015 through failure to report income and changes in her living arrangements.
The trial continues next month where the defence will call its final witness.