Mike Duffy's trial is interesting. Intimate personal details from a daily journal could be left out but that's not going to happen. The Media frenzy has begun.
Yesterday squishy rules for senate expenses were exposed.
PMO demands on a senator for party political events is unlikely to confound the enemy but public reaction to the underbelly of politics is never a given.
I have discovered a similar obscurity in Regional rules on
payments to Councillors.
payments to Councillors.
Something on Wikipedia caught my attention months ago.
Former Georgina Mayor ,chair of South Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority, was charged by the Authority
for illegal dumping. Media noted SLSCA suspended the Chair from his position and remuneration.
A couple of things about the story resonated.
Although elected by authority members to the chair, Grossi would have been appointed to the Authority by the Region. SLSCA members would not therefore have authority to suspend.
The second dingdong related to remuneration.
Salaries of Regional Councillors cover responsibilities assigned. No additional payments are due for service on
various Regional Boards and Commissions.
various Regional Boards and Commissions.
I called SLSCA for clarification. Sure enough,regional members are being paid $60. per diem for meetings. An annual honorarium of $10,000. Is paid to the chair. Conference allowance and mileage expenses are also paid.
Members participating in meetings by telephone conference
are paid half the per diem rate.
are paid half the per diem rate.
No provision is made in the Municipal Act for telephone conferencing.
I called the Region to discover .when or if the policy to prevent double-dipping had been reversed.
The search was lengthy. My experience was forty-three years past.
No policy was discovered . A resolution attached to a particular appointment noted no remuneration to be paid.
No policy was discovered . A resolution attached to a particular appointment noted no remuneration to be paid.
York Police Services Board has regional representation. A Regional rep has been Chair since early nineteen nineties. Police board members are not paid. Regional salaries are obviously. deemed to cover the service.
In the last term,former Vaughan Regional Councillor Deb Shulte did not accept pay from Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
York Rehion requires both Conservation Authorities to submit statements showing members being paid and how much.
Statements are attached to the Regional Report on Members salaries and expenses.
Like revealing double-dipping and makes double-dipping O.K.
The Duffy thing is going to be great entertainment despite the fact that we end up paying for the process. He is going to unload everything.
ReplyDeleteBrazeau is there taking notes. Some of the charges against him are similar. It does appear that they both got their marching orders from the PMO.
ReplyDeleteI doubt of we are going to be allowed to discuss this without being accused of being Liberal or Conservative and getting into tussles about which party is worse.
ReplyDeleteLet me start - I did not vote for either Brown or Ballard in the last elections. I think both groups are bad for Ontario now.
Mayors get onto a number of boards. I do not know if ones like the hospital board are paying positions but suspect that some make out very nicely just charging mileage to several in a short period. Maybe the same mileage ?
ReplyDeleteGiven the results of the Vaughan IC report on Regional Councillor DeBiase, do people still think that ICs are not required?
ReplyDeleteHe was slimy from the get go years ago and he still is. Now it's proven.