Toronto cop charged in Project South allegedly didn't care if selling information harmed people
uncertain
selling → charge → people
Investigators believe inmate connected to 4 charged in probe ordered alleged hit on corrections official: ITO
asserted
inmate → believe → official
Toronto police Const. Timothy Barnhardt knew the information he sold to a civilian from police database searches could help facilitate "serious violence and explicitly stated that he did not care if individuals were harmed," according to an Information to Obtain (ITO) application supporting more than 50 warrants in the Project South investigation.
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individuals → know → investigation
The sweeping corruption probe began in June 2025, when York Regional Police thwarted an alleged plot to kill a senior corrections official from Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC).
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Police → begin → Centre
Investigators subsequently discovered Barnhardt allegedly ran an unauthorized search on the official's licence plate less than a month before the attempted hit, and he is accused of then sharing confidential information about that official with civilian Brian Da Costa.
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he → discover → Costa
The identity of the senior corrections official is covered by a publication ban for their safety.
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identity → cover → safety
Both Barnhardt and Da Costa are in custody facing several charges in the probe, which have not been tested in court.
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which → face → court
Their lawyers declined to comment for this story.
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lawyers → decline → story
The unauthorized query on the jail official was one of 17 times Barnhardt allegedly accessed the Ministry of Transportation server to do searches while off-duty in the first six months of last year, according to the ITO.
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Barnhardt → access → ITO
Police-intercepted communications revealed to investigators that Barnhardt "routinely sold confidential database information to known criminal associate Da Costa, often at Da Costa's direction."
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Barnhardt → intercept → direction
A publication ban was lifted on those revelations, and many others, from the Project South ITO on Wednesday in a ruling from Ontario Superior Court Justice Laura Bird.
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ban → lift → Bird
Other new details include why investigators believed TSDC inmate Gurpreet Singh ordered the hit on the senior jail official, along with his alleged connections to a corrections officer and four men charged in Project South, including Da Costa.
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Singh → include → Costa
Neither Singh nor the corrections officer have been charged in this investigation.
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Singh → charge → investigation
CBC News was part of a group of media organizations fighting to lift a publication ban on the ITO in court.
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News → fight → court
Bird previously lifted the ban on some details earlier this summer.
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Bird → lift → details
In her decision this week, Bird lifted the ban on the majority of the rest of the court record.
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Bird → lift → record
"Permitting the media to publish the vast majority of the ITO while maintaining a temporary publication ban over limited portions of it strikes an appropriate balance between the court openness principle and the fair trial rights of the criminal defendants," wrote Bird.
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Bird → permit → defendants
An ITO is a legal document from a police officer laying out the evidence they have of a criminal offence in order to request judicial authorization for a warrant or production order from a judge or justice of the peace.
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they → lay → peace
The allegations in the ITO have not been tested in court.
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allegations → test → court
The search warrants were executed as investigators arrested and charged seven Toronto police officers, one retired cop and 19 civilians in Project South.
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investigators → execute → South
The charge against one of those civilians has since been stayed, and one of the officers retired and pleaded guilty to two charges in July.
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one → stay → July
The charges against the others accused in Project South have not yet been tested in court.
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charges → accuse → court
Police believed Singh behind attempted hit: ITO
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Police → believe → ITO
Elsewhere in the ITO, police say Singh had motive to harm the senior corrections official who was targeted, and that he was named by that official as one of a handful of inmates who'd expressed hostility toward them.
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who → say → them
The official told police that Singh and his former cellmate were angry after the official seized cellphones and steroids from their cell and then separated the pair.
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official → tell → pair
CBC News previously reported that Singh and correctional officer Nishwant Dosanjh were investigated for potential involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
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Singh → report → conspiracy
The ITO also states Dosanjh was Singh's former romantic partner and she allegedly took the photo of the senior corrections official's licence plate in the employee area of the jail.
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she → state → jail
The photo was allegedly later provided to Da Costa and then shared with Barnhardt, who's accused of using the image to search a police database on May 27, 2025.
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who → provide → May
The results of that query were allegedly provided to Da Costa, then shared with a gun-for-hire group accused of conspiring to kill the senior corrections official the following month.
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results → provide → official
The allegations in the ITO concerning Dosanjh and Singh have not led to charges, nor have they been tested in court.
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they → concern → court
In a statement, Dosanjh’s lawyer, Kim Schofield, told CBC News her client has co-operated with police, maintains her innocence and had no part in the attempt on the senior corrections official's life.
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client → tell → life
Schofield says she hired an independent digital forensics expert to review the "data dump" she received of Dosanjh's seized cell phone.
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she → say → phone
The lawyer says the expert found no photos or chat discussions relating to the attempted hit.
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expert → say → hit
"There is absolutely nothing to connect her to that incident," wrote Schofield.
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Schofield → be → incident
CBC News contacted Singh's lawyer for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
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News → contact → publication
In an emailed statement in June, Singh's lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said his client had not been charged with any offence in Canada, months after the execution of the February warrants.
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client → email → warrants
Singh has been held at the Toronto jail since his October 2024 arrest amid allegations he acted as an accomplice in a drug-smuggling organization allegedly involving killings and led by accused cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding.
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he → hold → Wedding
Singh is fighting extradition to California.
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Singh → fight → California
Inmate connected to 4 men charged in Project South:
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Inmate → connect → South
Investigators also connected Singh with others charged in Project South.
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Investigators → connect → South
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
