Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Mayor
Rob Ford ponders losing his job in conflict ...":
Oh, and one more
question that makes my head spin.
Morris' lawyer argued in her
defamation case that her defamation lawsuit was always a private lawsuit and now
her lawyer in the conflict of interest hearing is stating the exact opposite;
namely that this was always a town initiative and Morris was just a “front
person”.
Could someone please clear up the apparent conflict between the
two conflicting statements ?
*************
To begin with ,it's not the same lawyer .
Contradictions run amuk throughout.
Council, during that term , were advised more than once,indemnity is provided for a member being sued for an action undertaken in the course of a Councillor's authority.
At the same time, no coverage is available for a Councillor to litigate against anyone else.
Nor can a municipal corporation file for defamation of character and reputation.
That advice was clear. .
Where the contrary information came from is not clear but suspected.
When a majority of Council allow themselves to be persuaded an issue is entitled be discussed in secret , not a lot can be done.
Staff can advise. They cannot enforce.
It's not expected Councillors , under an Oath of Office, will flagrantly disregard the laws they have sworn to uphold.
Conflict of Interest legislation is not expected to be prosecuted. It's expected to be upheld by people who are themselves legislators. Nevertheless weak instruments of law bring the law into disrepute The decision to be made in Newmarket court a few weeks from now is expected to change that.
I hear, Codes of Conduct have fallen into disrepute and abandoned by many municipalities. They proved to generate more problems than they solved.
The case against Mayor Ford may resolve that problem once and for all.
No slew of requests for inquiries into closed door meetingshave been forthcoming since that legislaton passed.
Another piece of provincial legislation that compelled municipalities to retain investigative agencies to carry out investigations that weren't likely to.be requested and wouldn't likely produce information.
An annual retainer fee needs to be paid anyway..
It is sometimes difficult to keep the Morris lawyers straight in our minds. One thing that helps is to include their origins. The one who created the Center Agreement was local, the high-priced spread who went for the gold in the Defamation case were from Toronto, and the one handling her Conflict of Interest is from the Waterloo area.
ReplyDeleteThe lesser known ones who dominated in the Town Hall during the Morris Reign were generally from Toronto and environs.
The Star has whacked Ford = again.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIs this a blog or a news service?
The Star was not successful in their witch hunt to close down Marineland. They need to find another cause to stir up s**t about.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to newspapers reporting the news?