Wainfleet retains integrity commissioner

Wainfleet council members who misbehave could find themselves subject of integrity commissioner reports, with township politicians approving Wainfleet retaining the services of a Toronto law and dispute resolution firm frequently hired by municipal governments as a watchdog.

Rather than hire ADR Chambers with a retainer, township politicians approved a recommendation by corporate services manager and treasurer Adam Cross to retain the law firm’s services on a single source basis as needed.

Edward McDermott, one of the lawyers at ADR Chambers, was hired by Niagara Region last summer as its new integrity commissioner.

Any complaints about township council misconduct that result in the law firm launching an integrity commissioner investigation won’t come cheap: a new report by Cross presented in late March shows the firm would charge $350 an hour for principal services by a lawyer, and $275 an hour for associate services.

New provincial legislation makes it mandatory for municipal governments to have a code of conduct for council members, and is making it mandatory to provide council members and members of the public with access to an integrity commissioner. That access to a commissioner can be through an appointment or through the commissioner of another municipality, said Cross.

Wainfleet aldermen, who approved a code of conduct for council last August, agreed to Cross’s recommendation to approve an initial integrity commissioner term until March 31, 2019, with an option to extend the term by another four years.

Cross said ADR, which acts as the integrity commissioner for Durham Region, York Region, Halton Region and the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener and Markham, has 50 full-time employees with 40 active panel members. Many have conducted investigations and have experience in municipal law, he said.

Cross said there will be no retainer, just hourly fees charged as needed for investigations.