A Double-Edged Sword

I missed last week's council-in-committee meeting. I watched it on DVD. Not all at once but I did watch until the end.

Councillor Wilson asked when action was going to be taken on"The Breach of the Code of Conduct".

Councillor MacEachern moved the matter be referred to the Integrity Commissioner.

The Director of Corporate Services informed them of the process they were so hot to trot in pursuit thereof.

"There is no Integrity Commissioner until Council appoints one" he said.

"There is a formal complaint process to be followed " he said

Pages 10, 11,12 and 13 of the Bylaw outline in detail the complaint process

Nowhere does it allow a complaint to be casually referred with a wave of the hand, to an Integrity Commissioner.

There was subsequently further input from the Mayor about the need for The Code to be prominently displayed on the Town's web site.

"It is" said the Director.

The process to follow in making a complaint should be clear for citizens to follow, indicated Councillor MacEachern and the Mayor.

That too, the Director indicated.

I think it is reasonable to expect that before a council votes in support of a Bylaw, they would be sufficiently familiar with its scope to understand how it shall be used.

One might also expect that a councillor eager to make an accusation against another, might have the sense to familiarise him/herself with a law which they are responsible for promulgating. If only to save themselves the embarrassment of being accused of not adhering to a responsible code of conduct.

At last week's meeting, when Councillor Wilson asked when action was going to be taken, he clearly revealed his perception that someone other than himself is responsible to initiate the process.

Councillor MacEachern also revealed her erroneous understanding that a motion to refer was all that was required to set wheels in motion.

Ignorance coupled with arrogance are a dangerous complement. Attach that to authority and the outcome is unlikely to be beneficial to any person involved

I think passing a Code of Conduct Bylaw and thereafter displaying shameful ignorance of a significant part of its content might in itself be considered a breach of any code be it Conduct , Governance or just plain ordinary decency and common sense.