End All City Hall Conflicts Of Interest: WHOPPER WATCH

Published 07/08/2024 · Updated 07/08/2024

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“We have heard from staff that my motion does not prohibit councillors from doing their role, which is to be advocates, stewards and the biggest cheerleaders for their communities. It will continue to allow us to be involved in every aspect that we need to be. What it will not allow us is to be at the table asking for cash to build a gazebo that we could then cut a ribbon at.”

Orleans West-Innes Councillor Laura Dudas

So councillors should not be negotiating with developers for gifts for their communities, finance committee says.

Dudas is one of the movers and shakers on this decision.

Conflict of interest and the City of Ottawa. Just how deep does Dudas want to delve into this? In fact, if she wants to end conflict of interest, perhaps she should deal with worse examples.

Say campaign donations to councillors and the mayor from developers, their executives, their employees, their friends, their wives, husbands and partners (impossible to cover all the genders designations there) and their children. No word if a movement is afoot on council to allow developer pets to donate to campaigns. Here’s $1,100 from Diefenbaker, the cockadoodle poodle, because of the pooch’s long-held belief in the primacy of democracy. Pets are people, too.

Or Lansdowne. The city isn’t just administering Lansdowne, it is partners with the developers of this project and those developers must appear before planning committee for approvals on this and other projects.

Or Tewin where the developer can pay employees or second them from staff if the landowners need them. Does that include Dudas? Will she be framing homes on the Tewin lands next summer?

Or is this petty jealousy? Could it be because the other councillors didn’t get an offer of $300,000 for their wards? Or maybe because in one faction on council, recipient and Capital Councillor Shawn Menard rubs people the wrong way? One councillor was heard to say that she would not support a measure because Menard supported it. There’s a steward of public trust.

If Dudas wants to root out conflict of interest at Ottawa City Hall, she has a lifetime’s work ahead of her.

So hurray for Dudas fighting against conflict of interest, perceived or otherwise. Now get to work on the screaming examples above.

Ken Gray