Region code of conduct undergoes major reno
Two councillors have revised rules produced by expert hired to research and write them
A regional committee is recommending a new code of conduct for councillors — but it is very different from the draft version their expert submitted.
Grimsby Coun. Tony Quirk and Niagara Falls Coun. Selina Volpatti amended interim integrity commissioner John Mascarin’s 28-page draft report in 58 places at a procedural bylaw committee meeting Tuesday. Eighteen of the changes reworked sections or eliminated them all together.
The committee voted to accept their version and forward it to the full council.
Quirk said he and Volpatti wanted to ensure the code of conduct couldn’t be utilized as a political weapon against councillors.
“People use the code when they aren’t happy with a councillor,” Quirk said. “They use the code of conduct as a hammer because they couldn’t win at the ballot box. They try to shame someone because they don’t agree with their opinions.”
Councillors will have a chance to debate the Quirk-Volpatti edit on June 8 when it comes before a full council meeting for approval.
Pelham Mayor Dave Augustyn said he would fight Quirk and Volpatti’s changes to the code.
“I think it is wrong-headed and directly counter to what we heard form the community and the concerns of the community,” Augustyn said. “It should give many citizens cause for concern. This guts the work of the integrity commissioner.”
Council voted to review and update the code on Dec. 8 and hired Mascarin to undertake the task. He wrote the code establishes a standard to guide council members in a way that is acceptable to residents, taxpayers and all others. It also should foster public confidence in the integrity, honesty and professionalism of councillors.
A public meeting was held on April 12 to gather input for the changes.
Perry Schlanger, a St. Catharines resident, spoke at the public meeting and was at Tuesday’s committee meeting. In December, he was among residents who demanded council take action to address the social media activity of St. Catharines Coun. Andy Petrowski over an anti-Semitic video the councillor posted on Twitter. Petrowski — who removed the tweet in question — denied he intended any attack on the Jewish community.
Schlanger called the changes to the code made by Quirk and Volpatti an “absolute joke.”
“It looks like it is being rammed through,” Schlanger said. “They have taken the work of an expert in the field, a guy they have paid thousands of dollars to, who teaches this stuff at Osgoode Hall and butchered it.”
Under the Quirk-Voplatti edit, the code will only apply when councillors are acting in an “official capacity.”
They added language defining what acting in an official position means.
It was broken down into four sections. The first is actions taken during regional events and functions. The second is at events where the member was invited as a councillor. The third would include actions taken when a member is representing a resident in matters concerning regional business. The final point takes into account actions taken over social media “in relation to the aforementioned circumstances.”
“We need to recognize we have a life outside our official role,” Quick said.
Schlanger said there is nothing he can see that justifies councillors calling themselves part-time.
“They are not employees” he said. “They are not hourly. There is no way to determine if they are on the clock or off the clock except for taking their word for it.
“I made that point clear at the public meeting. Positions of trust are never on the clock, off the clock. It’s ludicrous.”
Others changes to the draft version will end anonymity for complainants, limit the complaints to people directly involved and stop members from complaining about each other to the integrity commissioner.
Mascarin said at the meeting he hadn’t had time to review the changes made by Quirk and Volpattti. He wasn’t provided with the amended code until he arrived.
He also added he didn’t want to make policy on the fly when asked specific questions about the consequences of changing his wording.