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Home My WebLink AboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1983-04-25, Page 4community news Lecknow Sentinel, Wednesday, [Vito 4, 1983 --Pae 4 Explain new municipal conflict-of-interest legislation The new municipal con- flict-of-interest legislation that came into effect March 1, is nothing to be "hysterical about" or "ashamed of", London lawyer, John Judson told close to 70 elected of- ficials from Huron County last week. Judson was the chairman of the Association of Municipalities in Ontario AMO) when it reviewed the legislation before it was passed. "The act is not intended to expose you as connected with some insidious in- volvement in the com- munity," he said, "If you're honest and frank, nobody can condemn you. But, if you act guilty, the press will see you act guilty and you'll find it in the paper the nextday. 1 think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy " Judson and Charles Godkin, of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, held their third in a series of seven meetings in Western Ontario last Tuesday at Huronview to educate municipal politicians about the revision of the act and to clear up any concerns or misconceptions. The act, first passed in 1972, has now been revised so that a municipal politician must explain the nature of any conflict in addition to declaring it in the first place. And, any citizen who suspects a council member of not declaring a conflict can report the member to a judge within six weeks. A councillor can come into' conflict if he or she has a direct or indirect pecuniary financial) interest in a matter concerning council. If the matter involves a financial interest of a spouse, parent, child, a dungannon By Marie Park Word has been received here of the death of Mrs. Colin (Lillian) Campbell on Thursday, April 21st in Ot- tawa at the age of 85. She was born on the main street of Dungannon on March 9, 1898 to the late Samuel Pentland and Maria Hanlin, and after her marri- age resided in the home now owned by Ben Park, across from Dungannon Cemetery. She is survived by three sons, Murray of Boston, Bill and Keith of Ottawa, and several nieces and nephews and cousins in our area. Private funeral service was held on Saturday, April 23 from Hulse and Playfair Chapel, 1028 Byron Avenue, Ottawa. Congratulations to Mary Bere who won a sheepskin rug on Sunday in a draw held at Clinton, sponsored by the Legion. John Bere and family of London visited Mary Bere on the weekend. The Slo-pitch season has opened as the Nile boys defeated the Lanesville Lords in an exhibition game played in Dungannon on Sunday. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Van Rooy (Val Matthews) who were married at the Nile 'United Church on Saturday. A re- ception was held in the evening in the community centre at Lucknow. About twenty-five friends, relatives and neighbours helped Hazel Webster cele- brate her 80th birthday on Wednesday of last week at her home. On Saturday Mrs. Webster, her daughter, Etta - belle, Mrs, Bill Bradley, and Mr. Bradley of Goderich, left for Bolton, where the family enjoyed another birth- day celebration with Mr. and Mrs. Ken Thomas and Jen- nifer. Separate school teachers return September 1 BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE Huron -Perth Separate School Board teachers will back to school this year on ie0.. 1 and 2 for professional ,ctivity days. The nine professional ac- { ivity days in the Huron- '-'erth system for the school ear 198344 are part of the .chool year calendar ap- woved by the board at its %pril 11 meeting. Director of education William Eckert said it will be "uncommon" for boards across the province to start school on Sept. 1. Previously Ministry of Education guidelines stated the school year would start the day after Labor Day, whereas now school may start on Sept. 1. "1 think it's wise that classes not begin before Labor Day," commented Mr. Eckert, "it's a tradition for Ontario families to start school after Labor Day." The director noted that of the nine professional activity days only five are within the flow of the school year as two are actually before the students come back to school and two are at the end of June on the 25th and 26th. The other professional ac- tivity days are on Friday, Sept. 23, Friday, Oct. 28, Monday, Dec. 5, Friday, March 9 ( which precedes the mid -winter break) and Mon- day, April 2. Stratford trustee Ron Mar- cy asked if there are any PA days common with the two public boards - Huron Coun- ty Board of Education and Perth County Board of Education. Friday, Sept. 23 is the only common day between the three boards, while Monday, Dec. 5 is shared with the Perth system and Friday, Oct. 28 is shared with the Huron system. Monday, April 2 is common betweenthe separate system and, the Huron secondary schools. Other changes in the school year calendar Turn to page 4• business partner, or an employer, the councillor is in conflict. Also, if the council member is a member of a body or has a controlling interest or is a senior officer of a corporation in which the council is concerned, he or she is in conflict. "The act does not care if you are voting for or against your interest or even if you don't affect the outcome; it only cares that you have a pecuniary interest," said Mr. Judson. Even if the councillor is a member of a local group that wants a grant from the government for a charitable cause, he is in conflict. "If you're the recreation director of the local Optimist club and also sitting on council, you'll have a conflict of interest if you ask council for a grant for hockey equipment for the boys. It doesn't matter if you're not going to benefit personally." Some exceptions to the conflict-of-interest act in- clude members who have a financial interest that is in common with the rest of the electors and members who have an interest in land affected by work under the Drainage Act or the Local Improvement Act. "1 think the exception from the Drainage Act is an important relief especially in rural areas," Mr, Judson said. The act states that the elected official himself is responsible for declaring his interest and its nature, keeping out of any discussion or voting on the matter, and refraining from trying to influence the voting. "It's a useful symbolic gesture to move back from the council table when you declare a conflict of in- terest," said Mr. Judson. If the meeting is closed to the public, the councillor is responsible to declare the conflict and leave the room while the matter is discussed. When the meeting is again open to the public, he or she must then declare the conflict and its nature once again. This section of the act does not cover the committee meetings of Huron County council which are never open to the public. The way the act now stands, a conflict declared during the closed meeting would never be known to voters since the meeting is always closed. There are three penalties for councillors who do not mention their conflicts. They are removed from office and either disqualified from running for office for seven years or required to pay restitution if they received personal gain. However, if the judge determines that the council member made an error in judgement, was ignorant of the law, or received bad legal advice, the penalty could be waived. Policing is done only by citizens and other politicians even though AMO recom- mended that the Attorney General be given some of the responsibility. "The odds of you being caught in a conflict of in- terest are the same odds of being hit by a car tonight when you leave," said Mr, Judson, Did you know that one out of every two Americans wears glasses - which just goes to show you how impor- tant ears are. Nitrogen critical for high yields , 'der;Vkiz.) 4 L2 Af 754 Pie b,0 I*" ',- . 'ii • i ,, \moi .;; L'• ;mo ! z • GRANULATED UREA The versatile supplemental Nitrogen Getting the best possible crop yield in the face of rising input costs is the one sure way to boost crop profitability. And one of the best possible investments you'll make for potential yield increases isNsupplemental Nitrogen. Nitrogen promotes rapid growth, improves the quality of your crops, speeds maturity. Dry supplemental nitrogen, Urea is the easiest to apply. • for corn and top dressing fall wheat, • a cost efficient means of increasing hay and pasture your rate of planting • dry weed and feed • saves time, money and labour • custom application CO-OP Nitrogen Supplied when and how you want it. Lucknow District Coop Lucknow52,4953