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Home My WebLink AboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-09-25, Page 7VUednesdacjt,'Sepiember 25, 2013 + Lakeshore Advance 7 Obstruction and Reprisal clause added to Lambton Blares code of conduct Lynda Hillman-Rapley Lakeshore Advance With the growing trend in Ontario of hir- ing an Integrity Commissioner, Lainhton Shores had a visit from theirs earlier this month with some suggestions to clarify and improve their Code of Conduct, including an Obstruction and Reprisal clause. In 2012 Councilor Doug Bonesteel called for the municipality to hire an Integ- rity Commissioner in hopes of "having the public's confidence restored" after the AlliCAO suspension and eventual dismissal. ATI, At $150.00 an hour many Ontario coun- cils have done this, a first for many seasoned council members. Greg Levine was Lamhton Shore's hire and his visit to council Sept. 5th was to review and discuss their newly adopted code of conduct. The Municipal Act, 2001 provides for a municipality to establish a Code of Con- duct for Members of Council and Mem- bers of Local Boards of the Municipality. It provides for a Municipality to Appoint an Integrity Commissioner who reports to Council and who is responsible for receiv- ing inquiries, requests for clarification and complaints with regard to ethical behav- iour of Members of Council and of Local Boards of the Municipality. Ontario's Municipal Act allows for the appointing of an independent integrity commissioner when a municipality receives complaints related to its code of conduct for members of council. Levine has also served as integrity com- missioner for other Ontario municipalities and is a former general counsel of the Office of the Ombudsman in British Coltunbia. l le has also lectured on the law and written on government and ethics. 'Ihe goal of the Code, which was passed last May was to establish a standardized and acceptable level of ethical behaviour for the members of Council, to ensure respect for the integrity of the Corporation, and to ensure the trust of the public. Sub- sequent to the approval of the Code, poli- cies Canadian Cancer Society set to start charging registration fee for transportation program in Ontario Lynda Hillman -Kepley Lakeshore Advance A 1 luron County cancer survivor is dis- turbed by news the Canadian Cancer Soci- ety will start charging new clients for rides to and from appointments. She wonders why, with all the dollars raised in the local com- munities for cancer research, that this new fee would even be a consideration. Starting Oct. I, any Ontario adult who enrolls in the transportation program will be charged a one-time $100 registration fee. the woman who battled cancer for years used the transportation service during her time fighting breast cancer and doesn't believe cancer patients should have to pony up money for the service. She worries that some can't afford the fee and that they have enough on their plate without this "added burden.' She said she has contributed a lot of money to the cancer cause as has all her friends and neighbours through one charity event or another. But 'Tanya Nixon, the society's senior manager of transportation, said the registra- tion fee is necessary to support the growing fOrOW11111. Last year, volunteer drivers time 15,500 Ontario clients — representing an almost 20% increase in the program's usage corn - pared to 2011. The drivers received a letter from the Cancer Society last week slapping out the changes. One Huron County driver explained that Society allows two free rides a week if you are more than 40 kilometers from London. 'the letter said they have been offering transportation since the 1950s stat- ing for many there is no other way to get to their treatments. "No patient will be tuned away," states the letter. Volunteer drivers are currently paid 30 cents per kilometre. However, Nixon said, the mileage rate fluctuates based on the gas price. Last year, the (,anadian Cancer Society spent $6 million on the transportation pro- gram in (Mario. 'As we see growth, we can't sustain that $6 million number going up because it's not just to say, 'We're going to take it from another program,"' Nixon said. "That's not lvhat we're about. We want to make sure the prow - ams are there when people need them at different times for different things, so the fee is really to help alleviate some of the strain that the program finds as the need of the program grows:' But 1 Iamlyn questions whether all driv- ers expect to be paid mileage. 'All the drivers I've ever met, they all do it on a voluntary basis and all they get paid is x Slice of life at Women's Probus Kathleen Williams Lakeshore Advance (rand Bend Women's Probus new Pres- ident Karen Bowes -Sewell opened the September meeting welcoming new members and guests. Nancy Winters gave a preview of program for upcoming months and Julie Armstrong presented "A Slice of life" a personal recall of her terrify- ing encounter and fortunate escape from harm, with the tornado near Barrie in 1985. Guest speaker for the meeting was Lan McLean, a retired Flight Master with the Snowbirds Air Team, who has opened Mac Teacher, a store here in downtown (rand Bend. lan has taken an interest in instruct- ing and advising with the Mac Computer, ipad, Mini ipad, 1pod, and iphone. "[Nether he described the link of this tech- nology as a form of eco -system. Members were educated relating to numerous com- puter terms, hardware and software as well as the icloud and wifi usage. ian also effi- ciently answered many questions from the members. Grand Bend Women's Probus next meeting will be Tues. Oct. 8th 9:30 am. at the (rand Bend Legion with Lynda 1 1111 - man Ripley and Jim Southcott speaking 00 the 1 listorical Society of Grand Bend. amount in gas money," he said. "But the majority i've spoken to would do it for free. Tiley actually would:' Nixon said the majority of drivers are in favour of the new registration fee. "We've also heard from some of our driv- ers saying, 'We're really concerned about this — we're concerned that people can't afford the $100,- she said. As the society rolls out the new registra- tion fee, they've also created a compassion- ate program for adults unable to afford the $10X). Existing clients, and clients under age 18, are among those excluded from the new fee. "It's important to us that (clients) don't feel anxious about this," Nixon said. "We know at the time of diagnosis it's a difficult time and we want them to know the pro- grM is there for them:' Withfi/es from Barbara Simpson-QMI Agency were established to adopt a standardized complaint "affi- davit" form, amend the proc- ess for dealing with perceived breaches, establish an "appli- cation" fee and a "tinge limita- tion" to ensure complaints are "current': At the September 5 meeting Levine provided a number of su v:estions designed to clarify and improve the Municipality's code of conduct to ensure that the principle statements and pules are clearly stated Includ- ing the consequences of any "breach"; Inclusion of a report section; and enhancing the referral section with a protocol for members to access advice. Levine suggested the addition of an "Obstruction and Reprisal" clause be approved and included in the revised Code. Council passed the addition to the code of conduct that states, "Members of Council shall respect the integrity of the Code of Conduct and investi- gations conducted under it. Any reprisal or threat of reprisal against a complainant or any- one else for providing relevant information to the Integrity commissioner is prohibited. Withholding or destruction of documents or any other obstniction of an investigation is prohibited. 'I'he Commis- sioner shall report such breaches to the Council:' SEPTEMBER 21- OCTOBER 21 See insert in today's paper. /' hydro (L. ne •1,t111'ls I1• /� `N l`l n1l� 1, ��11111.1�l11 i1('ti OFFICE HOURS The New Office Hours for The Lakeshore Advance will he as follows... Mondays - 8am - 4pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 4pm Thursdays - 9 am - 4pm Fridays - 8am - 4pm Grand Bend hors Advance 58 Ontario St. N., (rand Bend PH: 519-238-5383 1;MAl1.: lakeshorc.advancc("'sumnedia.ca