WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP MAY BE NO MORE CORRUPT THAN THEIR NEIGHBOURS

Saturday's Waterloo Region Record carried the following story titled "Multiplex board draws concern", written by Paige Desmond. An involved Cambridge citizen has pointed out that there is a conflict of interest with certain members of Cambridge's sports mutiplex task force. This gentleman, Derek Coleman, hired a well known municipal lawyer by the name of John Mascarin of Aird and Berlis LLP in Toronto. He unequivocaly has advised the City of Cambridge that they have indeed a board or municipal committee of council with members in a conflict of interest position. Mr. Coleman also advises that all the decisions made by the multiplex board are tainted because of these members with conflicts of interest.

Flash forward to Woolwich Township the home and most nurturing environment of conflicts of interest. I have written here of the conflicts of interest of two former CPAC members and currently members of TAG, namely Pat Mclean and Susan Bryant. I have also written here of the conflicts of interest on the Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC). Along with that I have advised Woolwich Staff and Council in writing of all these conflicts as well as the specific details. They include Chair Carl Zehr and Tom Jutzi although I give Mr. Jutzi credit for not being available for the last MECAC meeting. While Woolwich and MECAC stickhandled about his non appearance it is my belief that he was doing the honourable thing.

"According to the act (Municipal Conflict of Interest Act), a member has an indirect pecuniary interest when the member is a shareholder, director, or senior officer of a corporation or is a member with a pecuniary interst in the matter, or the member is in the employment of a person that has a pecuniary interest in the matter.". In my opinion this covers quite nicely the situation with the four persons mentioned here in Woolwich Township although it is possible that the employment situation is now in the past. That said the Terms of Reference for example of MECAC also deal with perceived conflicts of interest which certainly would include a history of a past longterm employment relationship.

I think what must be made clear is that municipalities routinely hire (MECAC) or appoint (formerly CPAC, currently RAC & TAG) committees to do their bidding while hypocritically referring to them as independent, arms length bodies. They are of course no such thing. Yes they can operate independently provided they are going in the direction that Council wants. If their independent research and examination of the facts takes them in a direction inconvenient to the Council then they will either be ordered to change course or members will be summarily removed. Been there and seen it.