| Date | 1989-1990 |
|---|---|
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Also known as | Patti Starr scandal, Pattigate |
| Outcome | Scandal contributed to Liberal government defeat in 1990; Supreme Court decision on legitimacy of Houlden Inquiry led to precedent of criminal trials over judicial inquiries |
| Inquiries | Houlden Judicial Inquiry (suspended) |
| Accused | Patti Starr |
| Charges | Election fraud, breach of trust |
| Convictions | Starr sentenced to six months in jail, paroled after two months |
| Litigation | Starr sued David Peterson, Vince Borg and Liberal Party, case eventually dropped |
The Patti Starr affair, sometimes referred to as Pattigate or the Patti Starr scandal, was a political controversy that affected the Ontario Liberal government from 1989 to 1990. Patti Starr was a fundraiser and supporter who made illegal political contributions through her role as head of a charity called the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. Through her scheme she made $160,000 in contributions to federal, provincial, and municipal politicians. In particular she contributed to Liberal campaign funds during the 1987 Ontario provincial election, including those of some senior cabinet ministers. When the scheme was revealed it contributed to the downfall of the Liberal government in 1990. At the time it was one of the biggest political scandals in Ontario history.
In 1989, Premier David Peterson appointed Justice Lloyd Houlden to lead a judicial inquiry into the affair. Shortly after the inquiry began, Starr launched a lawsuit to have it shut down. The suit, Starr v. Houlden, reached the Supreme Court of Canada which ruled that the inquiry was unconstitutional since it would impair the rights of the defendants to due process which would be available to them in a criminal trial. This decision set a precedent for future judicial inquiries including the Westray Mine disaster of 1992 and the Algo Centre Mall collapse in Elliot Lake in 2012.
In 1991, Starr was found guilty of election fraud and breach of trust. She was sentenced to six months in jail but paroled after two months. In 1993, she wrote a book about her experience called Tempting Fate: A cautionary tale of power and politics. In the book she argued that her sins were minor and that Peterson used her as a scapegoat to avoid scrutiny of other activities within the Liberal party and government.