A New Thought

In a discussion about the Code of Conduct and its purpose, a new thought has occurred to me.

Every one knows the short list items of public business a Council may discuss behind closed doors.

The right to privacy requires individuals may not be identified. Confidentiality must be observed.

Bargaining in good faith in union negotiations requires confidentiality.

If the Town is suing or being sued and solicitor/client advice is being received, the Town's interest must be protected. Therefore discussion must be behind closed doors.

Ditto when the Town is buying or selling real estate and price and/or conditions are being discussed.

The purpose of the legislation permitting a municipality to adopt a Code of Conduct allows an individual who knows or suspects wrong-doing on the part of an elected representative, to bring the matter to the attention of an Integrity Commissioner to privately investigate and determine if there is substance to the complaint.

In the computer scandal in Toronto, there must have been many who knew what was going on a long time before the scandal came to light. Hundreds of thousands ,maybe millions of dollars of public funds must have been misappropriated before the whistle was blown.

Provincial theory might have been, A Code of Conduct and possibility of being outed, disgraced and effectively expelled from Council would have a cautionary effect on anyone contemplating thievery and skulduggery.

I don't think so. Sensible people don't do stuff like that. Those who do, are compelled by reasons having nothing to do with honesty, common sense, the public trust or normal stuff like that. It has everything to do with greed and maniacal compulsion.

Plotting a strategy to bring down a political adversary with the help of solicitors paid for at taxpayers expense, is not listed as a reason for closed door discussion.

No provision exists in Code legislation for a group of politicians aggrieved by criticism , to file a complaint against another politician. The lawyer told them that. In writing already.

It follows therefore, when a number of Councillors decided to take revenge for real or imagined slights in the political arena, they had no right to do it behind closed doors.

The corporation's interest was never at risk.

If they had been compelled to do what they did publicly, with cable catching every phrase and evil glance and winging it through to the audience at home, I think the story might have been very different.

They would have had a hard time justifying spending unbudgeted funds on lawyers expenses to carry out their nefarious scheme.

Let alone refusing to disclose how much it cost after they spent it.