Repeat offender...

According to the latest edition of the Chapleau Express, Rose Bertrand may have been in conflict of interest more than once in the past.  All of the alleged infractions relate to giving perks to family members, hence the conflicts of interest.  It is also interesting to note that more and more of the space in the local newspaper is being devoted to this ongoing story.  Clearly, the public is quite taken by this level of apparent corruption in our quiet little town.  It's big news.  While Larry Lacroix's letter reveals what many of us suspected, it does nothing to satisfy our collective demand for justice.  Nor was that Mr. Lacroix's intention.  I don't even think the Mayor can make this all go away, at this point in time.  We need something (an explanation, an apology, something!) from Rose Bertrand herself.  She has had several weeks to dwell on this.  I could use some colourful metaphors to illustrate the urgency by which we need a response.  I'll leave them to your imagination.  This issue will not go away.  At the very least, for the people that voted and put their faith in her, Rose Bertrand owes some answers and they are very long overdue.    

A good start...

At long last, someone has had the intestinal fortitude to break the long silence.  Local councilor Larry Lacroix has given us some insight as to what really goes on at council meetings.  His revelations are both insightful and disturbing.  The big question on my mind is the following: If this is how municipal council is behaving now, when not much is really going on, how are they going to be when certain economic events are about to transform our town?  Can we really count on our elected representatives to help Chapleau rise out of the muck when the time comes?  So far, their behaviour leaves much to be desired.  I congratulate Mr. Lacroix for taking the time to fill us in on these recent happenings.  I truly hope he is able to stand up for all his constituents and help make our town run the way it should: smoothly.  At the end of the day, that's the only way we can move forward and live in a Chapleau we are all proud of.

Real transparency

Governments, at all levels in Canada, often speak of transparency.  We all know how poorly the Harper Conservatives have kept their promises to be transparent.  Unfortunately, as recent events have shown, our municipal government has not done any better.  I seem to remember that accountability and transparency were frequently used terms during the election campaign.  And where are we today?  Are council minutes on a website or in the newspaper considered real transparency?  It's a start, but I think more, much more needs to be done to restore faith in our local municipal council.  First of all, this ongoing conflict of interest business has to be addressed and dealt with in a timely fashion.  Very difficult, for as far as I'm concerned, too much time has gone by already.  I also believe there should be a list of all the committees, boards and such (in the municipal sphere of influence) and who exactly sits on these boards.  Are they all elected to these positions?  What are they paid (if anything) for their work?  Municipal council is only one piece of the puzzle of who is running our town and what their possible motivations for doing so may be.  Such knowledge is essential in understanding how our town works and who is doing what.  We as living, breathing taxpayers deserve nothing less.

Rest in peace

It is with shock and sadness that I recently learned of the passing of Mr. Ron Yurick.  While I had never met the man in person, I admired his passion and outspoken nature.  I truly felt he deserved a seat on town council and I was hopeful that he would have been elected on October 25th.  I believe he could have made a difference (or at least tried his best) in the town of Chapleau, if given the chance.  Unfortunately, now we will never know.

Chapleau Express!

There is yet another letter calling for action to deal with the ongoing conflict of interest scandal.  This one has been submitted by Mrs. Claire Charron.  In it, she demands the dismissal of Rose Bertrand and a pay cut for Lisi Crichton-Bernier.  This is why we need a person appointed to such a position to rule on such matters and make such decisions.  If we let everyone with an opinion decide the fate of these persons, we're liable to have someone burned at the stake.  While the acts themselves seem grievous on the surface, I am certain there is much more to the story (or stories) than what most of us have read in the paper.  Cool heads prevail.  I like to hope that something will be done sooner rather than later to deal with this ongoing fiasco.  That is the faith we must give our elected representatives.  But then again, Bev Oda still has her job, and she has done far worse than Rose Bertrand.

On another note, a link to my blog has appeared in the Chapleau Express, as has a link to Kimmo's site.  I'm quite flattered by all the attention.  Now I'll have to sharpen my pencil (virtual pencil that is) and make sure I keep on top of everything.

Thanks to everyone for reading!

Mr. X

Decisive action

While some may call her a political opportunist (she came within a handfull of votes of a seat on council), I believe that Pierrette Ouellette has some valid points in her recent letter to the editor.  As there is currently no person to determine the penalty in the case of a conflict of interest, a person guilty of such a charge could easily get off without so much as a slap on the wrist.  This type of inaction does not discourage the person from continuing the pattern of behaviour.  A type of ombudsman would help in establishing clear consequences for such infractions.  Then, nobody will have an excuse to act this way ever again. 

Furthermore, is this the type of conduct we expect from our elected officials?  Maybe this is why the public is so disengaged with our electoral system.  As to the reason why Lisi seconded Rose's motion to appoint her own husband to a paid position, I have no idea why that happened.  While the law indicates that other councillors are not obligated to do anything in the case of such a conflict, it appears that Lisi was nearly an equal participant in the act in question.  Perhaps she was unaware of the legislation, as it is her first term as councillor?  I have no idea.  I sense a case of the Obama syndrome hitting Chapleau.  Our hopes were so high and we placed so much trust in these people that we forgot one simple fact: they are exactly that...just people.  No single person (or even five for that matter) can solve all of our problems with the wave of a magic wand.  It takes effort from all those concerned, from the ground up, to get things moving and really make a difference.

Conflict of interest

Thankfully, we live in a country like Canada, where we have elected representatives who don't try to stay in power for thirty years.  It's also a good thing that Bev Oda doesen't live in Chapleau.  We seem to be free of these types of political shenanigans that we are so used to seeing in the news.  Or are we? 

The latest minutes of coucil meetings show that councillor Rose Bertrand nominated her own husband, Graham Bertrand, for a position on the Chapleau Public Utilities board of directors, a paid position.  According to provincial legislation (which is also public) and common sense, this is clearly a conflict of interest.  While this may be a small town, clearly another councillor could have nominated Mr. Bertrand instead of his wife.  That's why the legislation exists.  We hold our elected officials to a higher standard than this and, as such, they are required to act within an acceptable code of conduct.  Let's see what kind of repercussions this act has on the council level.  Hopefully, sooner rather than later, something is done to send a message that this type of behaviour will NOT be tolerated.