Penetang integrity commish clears three complaints 'without need for full investigation'

As captains for their municipality, Penetanguishene council ran a clean ship over the past year.

The message from the integrity commissioner’s periodic report was further discussed as the town’s appointed representative Principles Integrity gave a presentation during the recent regular council meeting.

Jeffrey Abrams of Principles Integrity explained that the report was meant to provide council and the public “on the ethical wherewithal of the town’s elected officials and its appointed officials,” between the period of June 2023 to the end of May 2024.

“I’m happy to report that in the period in question, there wasn’t a lot of activity; we didn’t have any education training or policy development work,” said Abrams. “We responded to one request for advice.

“There were three complaints that were filed with us; all of them were disposed of without the need for a full investigation and a recommendation report, so there were no findings against a member that would’ve triggered a report to council.

“In each of the cases, we write a disposition letter. As is our obligation, we explained our decision to both the complainant and a respondent member involved,” Abrams explained.

Abrams also provided a broader perspective toward the provincial lens, touching on the subjects of breaches of confidentiality (giving a stern recommendation for monetary sanction) as well as conflicts of interest.

However, Abrams spent the latter half of the presentation addressing “the issue of occurrences of disparagement, disrespect and even harassment and bullying in councils.”

Within the report, Principles Integrity had detailed elements of harassment seen provincially which included council members who interrogate staff or seek different answers than can be provided by staff by ‘asking the hard questions’.

Since completing the report, Abrams drew attention to an August announcement by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference that “made some indication that there was going to be a uniform code of conduct for all municipalities, that’s been referred to the provincial integrity commissioner for some work and recommendations.

“We're not quite sure what the intention is,” said Abrams. He expressed concerns regarding legislative change without pragmatic guidance which could interfere with the ability for an integrity commissioner to give course correction “in a timely, fair, and affordable way”.

Two reasons were listed in the report: Every harassment complaint could force extensive reviews at a much greater cost than to resolve the matter through an integrity commissioner; and the timespan for imposing remedies could be measured in years in contrast to the few months that an integrity commissioner provides advice.

“One example that I think is quite obvious to us is under the Education Act: a school board, upon the investigation and report of an integrity commissioner, can suspend a member’s – not only their compensation for a period of time, but their attendance for a period of time. That, in and of itself, can remedy a number of situations,” Abrams said.

The presentation was described by Abrams as “our own good news story on council’s ethical compliance” following the previous deputation where the annual Penetanguishene financial audit was similarly praised by Mayor Doug Rawson.

The integrity commissioner’s periodic report from June 2023 to May 2024 can be located on the agenda page of the Town of Penetanguishene website.

Meetings of Penetanguishene council are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and can be watched live on Rogers TV cable 53 when available, or on the Rogers TV website.

Archives of council meetings are located on the Town of Penetanguishene YouTube channel.