On This We Must Agree To Differ

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Council Did Not Authorise The Law Suit":

Evelyn, I am a supporter of yours, but I think that you are wrong on this. By any logical definition, "any and all" includes litigation, and, "ANY and ALL" other courses of action that anyone can contemplate.

Litigation was not explicitly sanctioned, that is clear enough, but it is simplistic to think that means litigation could not be launched, given the VERY BROAD and ALL-ENCOMPASSING directive that was given. ANY and ALL means ANY and ALL, including litigation. Period.

Any of the former councillors who were in the closed meeting and claim now that they did not know what that meant were either naive then or are disingenuous now.

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Five Councillors agree with  the comment above. Councillor Michael Thompson and myself did not.

It was not an easy decision. I do not criticise my colleagues for the position they took. I came down on the other side.

It was clear cut from my perspective. I was  there. I've seen the ongoing  cataclysmic harm to so many lives.  I watched the melodrama play out day by day.


I've served many  terms of council. As this term unfolded, I thought maybe  there  had been changes over the years that made it permissible for an elected official to retain and  have free and untrammelled  access to legal counsel  paid by the town.

I did a poll of municipalities within the region. There had been no change.  Individual  elected officials do not  deal directly with legal counsel retained in the service of the municipality.

Council deals with legal matters through the town solicitor.

It only makes sense. How else could costs be controlled?.

Appointed officers of the corporation have authority to spend up to a certain limit.

Elected officials do not.

Appointed officials are  governed by procurement policies. There is an entire bureaucratic process
to follow to ensure no  abuse of public resources.

We have nine members of Council , each with  separate responsibility to mind the store.

Statutory officers have  authority under the law to ensure the town's business is conducted
in accordance with the law.

And yet...