The Best Laid Plans Gang Aft Agley

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Uneasy Lies The Head":

Realizing that this is all in the past, but if I was in a situation that a lawyer asked me if I had retained legal council and did not, the first thing that I would do would be to get legal council.
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 Another comment  that  triggers  a memory.

Residents in Hunter's Glen had come to Council with a complaint about  a fence erected in contravention of a  covenant.

A staff report was  promised by a date . I e-mailed inquiring about the delay.

The  decision was made. 

The fence builder commenced  litigation.

Councillor MacEachern forwarded my e-mail to Counsel  for the litigants  for their "interest". 

It was used. Dismissed .Did not prove what was claimed. 

The Councillor had  had to be advised by staff of a  serious deficiency in her action.

 She was not pleased.

The  foul language legend commenced at that time. 

Then   came the "Emergency"  about information 
leaked" which should have been reported out  ten weeks previously.  
It was a slow leak. .

Bear in mind, matters  that need to be kept confidential, would otherwise be harmful to the municipality's interest if released. 

A resident involved in the fence matter, informed me at the  time that all  major corporations and government indemnify representatives against legal action for decisions made in the course of  duty. 

In forty-five  years of being  involved , the question had never arisen. 

I inquired  at  the in-camera meeting  held to discuss   "leaked" information,  about a Councillor's  right to legal counsel in the event of being sued. 

Both Mr. Rust D'Eye, legal counsel  retained by the Mayor and the clerk of the municipality denied all knowledge .

At that  moment in time, public  resources were being used to pay fees to Mr Rust D'Eye  to advise  how best to bring a wayward Councillor who believed  it a duty to represent  the best  interest of the community, to heel. 

A Code of Conduct, an Integrity Commissioner and penalties was the  all-encompassing answer.

Mr/ Rust D'Eye has since served as Integrity Commissioner on occasion.   

Mr. Rust D'Eye  had  formerly been a city solicitor. Amalgamation may have wiped out his position. 

He made no secret of his irritation  that an elected representative might have ideas different from  his own.

Municipal lawyers are not accustomed to being challenged. 

Most Councillors are "wee, cowrin',  timorous, beasties" when it comes to exercising their own judgement.    

Another  precious coincidence shall  be shared.  

John Mascarin ,brought to the Council table to help the Mayor on the by-election issue,  also  to conduct an unheard -of tribunal against staff behind closed doors, and  in addition  to "investigate" myself and process the Code of Conduct complaint,dismissed as "wholly political ", was also once  a municipal solicitor with the Town of Markham. Aurora's clerk had been employed there at the same time.

Mascarin  also edited a copy of the Municipal Act. 

His advice   had also  been  challenged by myself on a few key occasions. 

He confided to a Councillor how much "he hated that woman" .

The Mayor was in England at the time , to ensure  the Deputy-Mayor  would be responsible for  processing the "wholly political" complaint against me.

Didn't turn out quite as planned .