David Smith was rushing back from Northern Ontario, driving after having injured his foot; Harkirat Singh’s accountant didn’t know the deadline.

These are the explanations offered by two former school trustees ousted from office for failing to file their election expenses on time.

They are now asking Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice to return them to office. After a one-day hearing in Brampton on Tuesday, Superior Court Justice Jennifer Woollcombe “reserved her decision on both cases, saying that it’s a matter of public importance and they warrant fully written reasons, instead of a yes/no answer,” their lawyer, Jack Siegel, told the Star via email.

“She said that she would try to get it done quickly, understanding the timing concerns for the school boards.”

The Municipal Elections Act is firm on filing expenses, removing from office those who have failed to do so by the deadline and banning them from running in the next election. The deadline to do so was March 27 at 2 p.m.

In affidavits filed with the court, Smith — the incumbent who represented Scarborough Centre (Ward 19) on the Toronto District School Board — said he was out of the country from Feb. 10 to March 11 of this year.

After returning, he was later advised by the accountant he’d hired that some documents were still required. After providing them, Smith — an accountant himself — says he headed to Kenora on March 23 “to look at properties with a business associate” and was forced to extend the trip after a wood plank fell on his left foot.

“My foot was swollen and caused me significant pain, and for that reason I altered my plans and delayed my trip back to Toronto,” his affidavit says.

After learning his personal assistant could not file the documents on his behalf, Smith said he “drove through the night, with only a minimal rest break and notwithstanding the pain I felt in my foot.”

He arrived one hour and 13 minutes past the deadline.

Singh, who represented two Brampton wards on the Peel District School Board, explained in his affidavit that there was some confusion on the part of his accountant, who believed the deadline was March 31.

Singh said he was busy at his day job as a teacher at Lambton College, and “relied upon” his campaign manager and accountant “to finalize the financial statements, trusting that they would contact me if they required my input or assistance.”

He said he had notified the accountant’s associate of the correct deadline.

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As a first-time candidate, “I was not familiar with the timing or the process for preparing these documents, nor was I aware that I was required to sign them,” he said.

On March 27, he emailed his campaign manager to ensure expenses had been filed. Later that day, he said he learned they had not because the accountant “still believed that the documents were due March 31.”