By John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
A second, anonymous conflict of interest allegation against MNBP Councillor Laurie (Smokey) Golden has been dismissed by the municipality’s Ethics Commissioner, Harold Elston. A similar complaint, based on the same arguments, was dismissed last year.
The complaint hinges on the fact that Councillor Golden’s brother, Brent Robins, owns Bruce Anchor Cruises. The complainant claims that Councillor Golden violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA) when she participated in, and voted to pass, a Housekeeping Amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw. The purpose of the Amendment was to regulate the use of C1 lands by the tour boat industry.
Commissioner Elston’s decision, which is included in the Agenda for MNBP’s July 25 Meeting, noted that the Amendment will affect all tour boat operations in the municipality, not just Bruce Anchor Cruises. He also quoted from the report from last year’s decision dismissing a similar complaint: “Pursuant to section 3 of the MICA, the pecuniary interest of a sibling of a member is not deemed that of the member. Accordingly, … I find that L.G.’s actions in this matter would not have contravened the MCIA.”
A few excerpts from Commissioner Elston’s decision:
“In the hopes of satisfying what seems to be an on-going concern over Councillor Golden’s involvement in matters related to the Tobermory harbour, however, I will provide a more expansive discussion about conflicts of interest in general and the conflict provisions of the Code…
“Contrary to the reply submissions of the Complainant, the determination of whether a conflict of interest exists involves not only the discovery of an interest in the matter before Council, but also the presence of a conflict between that interest and the public interest; a requirement that demands consideration of the full context in which the decision is made. While the involvement of sibling in a matter before Council will always raise a presumption of a conflict, that presumption may be rebutted when the full picture suggests otherwise.
“Turning to the facts of this matter, the ZBA covered a large area of Tobermory and affected many different businesses and land uses. Bruce Anchor Cruises was but one of many businesses potentially affected by the provisions of the ZBA.
“Moreover, I accept Councillor Golden’s evidence that the boat tour industry is crucial to the economy of the area and that she was acting out of a sense of duty to support and preserve the economic well being of her community. In this regard, I accept that she was using her influence on behalf of constituents, as contemplated by section 4.10 of the Code and was “truly, faithfully and impartially exercising her office to the best of her knowledge and ability”.
Yvette Roberts Running For Council
Yvette Roberts of Tobermory has filed nomination papers for the upcoming municipal elections. She will be running for one of the three Councillor positions.
She joins current Councillor James Mielhausen, who is running for Deputy Mayor.
Current Trustee (and Board Chair) Jane Thomson of Lion’s Head has filed nomination papers for Trustee for Bluewater District School Board (public).
Lucie Desbiens of Port Elgin and Jeanette Lee of Chepstow have filed to be the English Catholic School Trustee. Eric Lapointe of Barrie has filed to be the French Public School Trustee. No one has yet filed for French Catholic Trustee.
