According to an Information to Obtain (ITO) application supporting over 50 warrants in the Project South investigation, Toronto police Const. Timothy Barnhardt was aware that the information he provided to a civilian from police database searches could potentially lead to “serious violence,” and he expressed indifference towards any harm that may be caused to individuals.
The extensive corruption probe, which commenced in June 2025, stemmed from York Regional Police intercepting an alleged plan to assassinate a senior corrections official at the Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC).
An unauthorized search conducted by Barnhardt on the official’s license plate shortly before the planned attack led investigators to uncover his alleged sharing of confidential information about the official with civilian Brian Da Costa. The identity of the targeted corrections official is shielded by a publication ban for security reasons.
Both Barnhardt and Da Costa are currently in custody facing multiple charges related to the investigation, which have not yet been tested in court. Their legal representatives have chosen not to provide comments on the matter.
Details from the ITO revealed that Barnhardt allegedly accessed the Ministry of Transportation server for searches on 17 occasions while off-duty in the first half of the previous year. Intercepted communications indicated that Barnhardt regularly sold confidential database information to his known criminal associate Da Costa, often at Da Costa’s direction.
A publication ban was lifted on various revelations from the Project South ITO by Ontario Superior Court Justice Laura Bird, including the reasons investigators believed TSDC inmate Gurpreet Singh orchestrated the hit on the senior jail official, as well as his connections to a corrections officer and four individuals charged in Project South, including Da Costa.
Neither Singh nor the corrections officer have faced charges in connection with this investigation.
Media outlets, including CBC News, advocated for the publication ban on the ITO to be lifted, which Judge Bird partially granted earlier in the year and further expanded on this week, allowing the majority of the court record to be disclosed.
An ITO is a legal document presented by a police officer outlining the evidence of a criminal offense to request judicial authorization for a warrant or production order. The allegations in the ITO remain untested in court.
During the arrests of seven Toronto police officers, one retired officer, and 19 civilians in Project South, search warrants were executed. One civilian’s charge has been stayed, while one officer retired and pleaded guilty to two charges in July.
The charges against the remaining individuals accused in Project South are yet to undergo court scrutiny.
Police suspected Singh orchestrated the attempted hit: ITO
As detailed in the ITO, police believed Singh had a motive to harm the targeted senior corrections official, as the official had identified Singh as one of several inmates displaying hostility towards them. The official informed police that Singh and his former cellmate expressed anger after the official confiscated cellphones and steroids from their cell and separated the pair.
CBC News previously reported an investigation into Singh and correctional officer Nishwant Dosanjh for potential involvement in the alleged conspiracy.</
