Hamilton’s Integrity Commissioner, in his joint-capacity as Hamilton’s Lobbyist Registrar, has ruled former Speaker of the Ontario Legislature Dave Levac, and Microshelters Inc. co-founders Denis Fourcaudot and Jeffrey Cooper engaged in unsolicited lobbying of senior City of Hamilton staff and Mayor Andrea Horwath in the months before they successfully secured non-competitive contracts worth $2,039,027.
Cooper and Fourcaudot are the co-founders of Microshelters Inc, a firm that was hastily incorporated in August 2024 to facilitate the purchase of 40 Made-in-China modular metal shelter container units for the City of Hamilton’s Barton/Tiffany outdoor shelter. Microshelters Inc. marketed itself as an Indigenous-owned corporation, something the City of Hamilton repeatedly cited.
The report from Integrity Commissioner David Boghosian provides new insights into the Barton and Tiffany outdoor emergency shelter failure that were not included in a February 2026 audit report by the City’s internal auditor.
Key among the new insights are that General Manager of Healthy & Safe Communities Grace Mater was the general manager in charge of the file [The City’s internal audit did not identify officials involved in the project], that Microshelters began pitching the City of Hamilton on its product at the Ontario Municipal Administrators Association conference as a tradeshow vendor, that the first email from Microshelters to the City occurred on May 3, 2024, and that Levac attempted to leverage his personal connection with Mayor Andrea Horwath, a former colleague in the provincial legislature, in an unsuccessful attempt to secure a meeting for his clients.
Boghosian says the lobbying efforts, and subsequent actions by City staff to procure from Cooper and Fourcaudot without proper venting or due consideration of other vendors, ‘compromised the integrity of Council’s approval role.”
The City of Hamilton and Microshelters Inc. are engaged in various litigations following revelations that Microshelters allegedly misrepresented itself and misappropriated the intellectual property of Foldum Inc.
The temporary tiny shelters project eventually cost $7.9 million against a $2.8 million budget, with ongoing litigation and review costs still mounting
Boghosian’s report reveals that Fourcaudot first met City Manager Marnie Cluckie at a 2023 Ontario Municipal Administrators Association (OMAA) conference.
Following an early 2024 OMAA event, Fourcaudot emailed his first pitch to Cluckie on May 3, 2024. Cluckie passed on the information to senior staff. The following week, Fourcaudot emailed to arrange to meet at any upcoming municipal conference.
By June 2024, Fourcaudot and Cooper retained Levac. Utilizing his history as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Levac emailed Mayor Horwath on June 26, 2024, attempting to broker a meeting. While he followed up in July, the group was only able to secure a meeting with a policy advisor rather than the Mayor herself. Levac later testified to Boghosian that he was not compensated, claiming he acted as a “favour for a friend.”
Internal lobbying with senior staff proved more fruitful. Throughout July 2024, Fourcaudot remained in communication with staff as planning for the project progressed. On August 6, Mayor Horwath issued Mayoral Directive MDI 2024-02, instructing staff to research temporary shelter options. Within ten days, senior staff met with Cooper at Mulberry Coffeehouse to finalize purchase terms. Microshelters Inc. was not officially incorporated until August 28, 2024, nearly two weeks after that meeting.
By September 11, 2024, staff informed the co-founders they had been selected for the contract. Local manufacturers of higher-quality units were disqualified by staff who claimed only Microshelters met the City’s quality standards. On September 18, Mayor Horwath and senior staff convinced the General Issues Committee to approve the $2.8 million budget and bypass standard due diligence.
The City issued an initial 50 per cent payment of $1,019,513.50 on October 17, 2024, without a signed contract or warranty requirements. The second $1,019,513.50 payment was issued on December 4, despite the metal container units having not yet shipped from China.
The project quickly devolved into a fiasco as the units arrived late, failed to meet Ontario building requirements, lacked insulation, and featured defective heating systems. The final cost ballooned to more than $5.1 million over budget.
In the weeks and months that followed, the project turned into a fiasco with the Made-in-China shelters arriving late, the metal containers failed to meet Ontario’s building cost requirements, did not have insulation, came with inadequate heating units, and numerous other defects. Eventually, the project cost over $7.9-million, more than $5.1-million over budget.
Nearly a year after the fiasco, on November 22, 2025, Fourcaudot sent a text message to Cluckie:
Hi, good to see you at the conference a few weeks back Is there any chance we could have a quick conversation just to bring you up to speed as to what’s going on? I’m aware our lawyer has contacted your legal really don’t want to escalate this. At least if you had both sides of the story could save a lot of time and embarrassment. If you’re not the right person to talk to, who should I reach out to? [housing staff] or somebody else on the housing team to bring you the message?
Cluckie responded:
Hi Dennis, I hope you are well. I understand this matter is with our respective lawyers now. Therefore, all correspondence should go through them. I cannot discuss this with you. [City lawyer] is the City’s lawyer. [Lawyer’s email address] Thank you. Take care
In concluding his report, Boghosian ruled that Cooper, Fourcaudot, and Levac all engaged in unregistered lobbying contrary to the City’s bylaw. As a result, the Integrity Commissioner has imposed a 30-day lobbying prohibition on all three individuals.
Timeline of Lobbying Events in IC Report
- May 3, 2024: Fourcaudot sends an initial email to Marnie Cluckie with the document “Municipal World Shelter Release.pdf” and a video link, requesting she review the video. He states they recently spoke at a OMAA event.
- May 12, 2024: Cluckie acknowledges the email and confirms she has passed the information to applicable staff .
- May 13, 2024: Fourcaudot emails Cluckie again to arrange a meeting during an upcoming conference.
- June 26, 2024: Dave Levac emails Mayor Andrea Horwath to introduce his clients, Cooper and Fourcaudot, and requests a meeting at City Hall to discuss the City purchasing from this clients.
- July 16, 2024: Dave Levac sends a follow-up meeting request to the Mayor’s Office.
- July 18, 2024: Sarah Lowe responds to Levac, noting the Mayor is away but will reach out with options later .
- July 18, 2024: Denis Fourcaudot emails Cluckie, stating he is doing so “as instructed” by her text message to discuss shelter solutions. (Cluckie could not find copies of these text messages.)
- July 26, 2024: Cluckie informs Fourcaudot that her office will work with the Housing Division staff to coordinate a meeting .
- July 30, 2024: Unidentifed City staff members request cost estimates from Fourcaudot for shelter units.
- August 1, 2024: Mayor’s office proposes a preliminary meeting between Dave Levac, Jeffrey Cooper, and Wynne Baker, the Mayor’s policy advisor.
- August 5, 2024: Fourcaudot emails Cluckie.
- August 6, 2024: Mayor Andrea Horwath issues Mayoral Directive MDI 2024-02, directing staff to research temporary shelter options and potential vendors. In the days which follow, senior staff communicate frequently about the pitch from Cooper, Fourcaudot, and Levac.
- August 15, 2024: Cooper attends an in-person meeting with senior City of Hamilton staff at Mulberry Coffeehouse on James Street North.
- August 27, 2024: Dave Levac, Jeffrey Cooper, and Denis Fourcaudot attend a meeting in the Mayor’s Boardroom with Wynne Baker, a mid-level staff member in the Mayor’s office. Levac was unsuccessful getting an appointment with the mayor.
- August 28, 2024: Microshelters Inc. is officially incorporated .
- September 11, 2024: City staff inform Microshelters Inc. that the City will be purchasing the Made-in-China modular metal shelter container units.
- September 18, 2024: GIC approves a $2.8 million budget and authorizes the single-sourcing of contracts for shelter structures .
- September 27, 2024: Microshelters Inc. submits an official quote to the City .
- October 17, 2024: City pays Microshelters Inc. $1,019,513.50.
- October 31, 2024: Fourcaudot emails Cluckie a link to an article lauding the Barton/Tiffany project.
- December 4, 2024: City pays Microshelters Inc $1,019,513.50, the remaining amount promissed.
- September 11, 2025: Dave Levac emails the Mayor’s Office on behalf of a new developer client, Rommel Lumbao, to request a meeting .
- September 15, 2025: Sarah Lowe (Mayor’s Office) responds to Levac with a meeting request form and a formal notice regarding the Lobbyist Registry .
- November 22, 2025: Denis Fourcaudot sends a text message to Marnie Cluckie seeking a conversation to avoid “embarrassment” while legal actions are pending.
- November 22, 2025: Cluckie responds via text, stating she cannot discuss the matter as it is with respective lawyers.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: April 19, 2026
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version