"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Answer To A Question Nobody Has Asked

I will answer it anyway. One of the legal responsibilities of a Councillor is to protect the town's interest . Information obtained as a result of being a Councillor , can  under no circumstances , be revealed  that might bring harm to the municipality.


 The information does not belong to the Councillor. It is not hers or his to disclose.

Even if a Council or Councillor is  under  political  pressure or criticism , to release the  information, if it can harm the municipality in any way, it cannot be divulged.

Failure to adhere to the obligation represents, at any level of government, a Breach of Trust. It is the real meaning of the Oath of Office.It is also an indictable federal offence. 

A second serious responsibility is to protect the individual right to privacy. No person  who has obtained information about another, as a result of being a Councillor, which,if released. would invade the right of privacy, can divulge the information.

In one instance an individual can be harmed, In both instances, the municipality can be harmed.

There are circumstances in which a matter of interest to the public, might  never be made public so long as the possibility exists of harm to the municipality.

The Municipality's interest takes precedence. The Municipality's interest is the community's interest in particular circumstances.

No comments: