Troubles at the Top of Springwater Council

 Mayor Allen - 90 day pay suspension for Code of Conduct Violation

It was a long drawn out debate and discussion at the Oct 21 Regular Council Meeting when the Integrity Commissioner submitted its report on a Code of Conduct complaint filed by Councillors Cabral, Moore and Hanna related to criminal charges of Impaired and Dangerous Driving laid against the Mayor triggered by incidents following the 2019 Warden’s Golf Tournament at Vespra Hills Golf and Country Club on Wilson Drive. As Reported in the media, the Mayor plead guilty this past Summer to reduced charges under the Highway Traffic Act of “driving without due care or attention or without consideration for other persons using the highway”. The agreed statement of facts in Court read as follows: “On June 26th, 2019 Don ALLEN attended a golf tournament at the Vespra Hills Golf Course located on Wilson Drive in Springwater Township. He was observed after the tournament by staff having difficulties with his balance. This was due to a combination of a number of medical conditions Mr. Allen suffers from, including Multiple Sclerosis, a double knee replacement, fatigue from the heat and duration of the tournament in combination with 2 alcoholic beverages Mr. Allen had consumed at dinner at the course. Around 9:54 p.m. Mr. Allen entered his car, a Toyota Prius and drove off the property with only his daytime running lights on and turned onto Wilson Road, The combination of Mr. Allen’s fatigue, pre-existing medical condition, the 2 alcoholic drinks consumed at dinner and driving after sunset with only his daytime running lights on amounted to his driving on Wilson Road without due care and attention for other users of the roadway.” The Court noted in sentencing, stated: “I think the joint submission in this case is fitting and appropriate, and certainly meets the needs of the purpose of sentencing which is to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and to those who are acknowledging the harm done - and that is certainly the case here - but also to denounce the unlawful conduct and harm done to victims, and to deter yourself and others from committing offence.” He was given a $1,000 fine, a four-month licence suspension and a one-year ban on driving while there's alcohol in his system. What surprises me is the Mayor’s lack of contrition to his fellow Council members and his constituents. He instead tabled a motion to post a prepared statement that seems to contradict the information in the Integrity Commissioner’s report making him some sort of victim. That will be discussed at the next meeting. A simple apology by the Mayor for his bad behaviour may have avoided the action tabled by Councillor Ritchie to suspend the Mayor’s pay for 90 days. I am also perplexed at the two letters of support for the Mayor that were submitted which effectively chastised other members of Council for doing their sworn duty. Let’s be clear, Mayor Allen himself created this issue with his bad behaviour and he needs to accept responsibility or it will develop a life of its own. I suggest you watch the October 21 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting on Youtube for the complete story.

 

Barrie Physician Recruitment – Well Done!

I just want to say how impressed I have been with the successes of the Barrie Physician Recruitment Program headed by Dr. Stu Murdock. With his leadership over the last 4 or 5 years there has been the renewed focus on bringing family physicians to the area with two new doctors working out of the Springwater Health Centre at Carson and Bayfield. Springwater contributes only about $8,000 a year and during my term we established a program to donate the funds from the annual Mayor’s Golf Tournament. Apparently, when asked, the fund is dry as there was no tournament this year (not sure why they didn’t stage a virtual tournament as other municipalities have done and raised funds). I know we had quite a surplus at the end of my term as Mayor and not sure where that money has gone. Since the program now works so well, because of the leadership of Dr. Murdoch, I now support this funding being an annual budget item rather than from fund raising activities. I do want to make it clear that in the past I did not think it should be a budgeted item as I was not confident at the time of where the funds were being deployed. Things do change for the better.

 

Building Inspectors – Outsourcing

With the upswing in new residential developments, especially the mega developments in Midhurst unleashed by this Council, the Springwater building department is overwhelmed with work. I just want to say I think we have one of the best Chief Building Officials around and feel comfortable when he comes to the table and asks for something. My experience with him was one of efficiency and effectiveness which today seems to be lacking in many department heads. The request and plan is to outsource the extra work to an agency, as bringing on full time employees has its challenges. In addition you will find the work load typically ebbs and flows. Councillor Moore provided a suggestion of looking into more student graduates and internships to help with the transition. Ottawa has had some success with this. I know the Township has also shared resources with neighbouring municipalities such as Wasaga Beach and Innisfil in times of need, but I expect they are also experiencing staffing pressures as their communities attract new residents from the GTA.

 

I do encourage you to watch some Council Meetings as you will be voting in two years for a new Council, and I think we might need some new faces. Again, please remember these are my thoughts and I am not asking you to agree. I respect your freedom of expression and encourage you to SPEAK UP, before that freedom is taken from us!!

 

Bill French is a seasoned business leader with over 40 years experience and served in senior positions of International Enterprises. Bill served as Mayor of Springwater and a County of Simcoe Councillor from 2014 to 2018 and has taught business at the college level for over 15 years.

Backyard Chickens – Service Delivery Review - Springwater Township

 

Springwater Council Updates - Backyard Chickens – Service Delivery Review

Backyard Chickens: Many local municipalities allow the raising of backyard chickens, but in my view, Springwater, being 90% farmland with some very large livestock operations, is different and needs to be much more vigilant as Agriculture is driving our economy and nothing should jeopardize that business. Two expert opinions in opposition were voiced by the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture and the Springwater’s Agricultural Advisory Committee opposing the move and provided very solid reasons, which for some reason were simply ignored. Councillor Hanna seemed to be the only one that opposes the move and I hope Councillors Ritchie, Moore and Chapman-Maw, who represent many farm operations in their wards, have something to say when the bylaw comes forward. The position of Council appears to be that this is only a pilot project for three years. First of all, most pilot projects are one year as after three years, there is no turning back. I also think that the bylaw wording adding a backyard chicken as a “Domestic Animal” needs rethought. We typically don’t eat or consume anything from our pets! Chickens are livestock according to OMAFRA and if the Township wants to allow these backyard chickens, the Township should simply add an exemption in the bylaw, not change the definition. Just because you go to the Zoo and stand in front of the Zebra cage, it does not make you a Zebra. I think it is a bad idea allowing these backyard operations and I would hope the bylaw will stipulate at least 1 km setbacks from any existing agricultural livestock operation.

Service Delivery Review: The Township engaged a firm to do a Service Delivery Review of the Township. The funding comes from Modernization Funds at the provincial level. Some will argue it is not our tax money, so why worry about the close to $60,000 spent on it. For those that think that way, I must remind them there is still only one taxpayer. For the most part I think specialists in certain areas are vital to having a smooth and effective organization when there is lack of expertise in certain areas and you cannot justify a staff specialist. I have no issue with outside advice on Engineering, Legal services, or new technologies such as IT since there are so many areas of expertise. In my 40 years of business I never found a single outside organization or agency that could actually address a broad range of services as this review attempted to do, and in my estimation, failed miserably. I think Council should have identified areas that they felt needed improvement and hired different small firms or individual consultants to address those needs. I believe the delivery report should have also stayed focused on the operational side of Springwater and stayed away from the political side. Two things jumped out of the review that are far beyond the scope of a normal delivery review and are by no means operational concerns. The first one is geographic tensions. Let’s be honest, since Flos and Vespra joined and formed Springwater over 25 years ago, there have been minor tensions. Some tensions are based on pride, some on the loss of autonomy. That to me is healthy and until everyone from that generation dies off (which includes me) that will always be in the background. Look at Barrie. Until only recent years there was always those that were Barrie and those that were Allandale patriots, but 120 years after Allandale was annexed by Barrie and some 60 years after the City was formed, the lines are starting to blur and tensions have subsided. Maybe Springwater could put that concern about tension on their 2121 Strategic Plan. The best way to overcome that type of friction is community engagement and we started that in the last term by having multiple Townhalls in the different areas of Springwater and they were well attended. As Mayor at the time, many people told me they appreciated knowing what was going on as a township, so communication and information is key, not some feel good notion. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or waste time and resources to change for the sake of change as appears to be the desire of our Deputy Mayor. A second area of the review which has no place in a service delivery review was Council relationships. I for one hope our Councillors are not always singing from the same song sheet. We elect Councillors to bring different perspectives to the table and I think they all do their job and I only question some of the initiatives of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor (self professed next Mayor!). To be frank they seem to be the one’s disconnected from the concept of serving the people first. Even though having various views on matters, which they present articulately, the ward Councillors in general seem to get it and are filling the leadership void. Some group therapy session and sensitivity workshop to have them sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya is not in the cards and would be a waste of time and money. I think the Consultant’s Report is remarkably light and lacks substance or real facts about Springwater. There is not one new idea that was brought forward and some of the assumptions shows that the firm just simply doesn’t understand rural Ontario and the uniqueness and pride of rural and small settlement area living. At least with the pressure from Councillors Hanna, Moore, Cabral and Ritchie, who all expressed concern about the lack of details, the Report is deferred until after budget consideration and my hope is that it gets lost or misplaced. Based on my interaction at the Administrative Centre for 4 years, I would suggest there are enough smarts and experience with the current Management Team and they can address 7 of the 9 principles that are relative to making the Township better by forming small working groups and bringing in specialists when needed, not developing some sort of Omnibus plan. My years in business has also taught me that in-house solutions, with the help of some needed experts, are always superior to some third party template based vague plan. Third party experts and consultants should be the catalyst to in-house solutions, but typically they are not the problem solvers.

Again, please remember these are my thoughts and I am not asking you to agree. I respect your freedom of expression and encourage you to SPEAK UP, before that freedom is taken from us!!

Midhurst Secondary Plan and another 30,000 people-Good or Bad Planning?

 

Midhurst Secondary Plan – Good or Bad Planning? You decide.

I realized my brief mention of the Midhurst Secondary Plan (MSP) in recent articles is not something everyone is familiar with these days as we have seen probably a 25 to 30% population change in Springwater over the last 5 or 6 years. With that in mind, I would like to provide some history and background.

Over 20 years ago the Province, recognizing that unbridled urban sprawl was unsustainable and asked all municipalities to look to the future and plan where they would like to see urban type developments occur. The control mechanism became what is known as the Provincial Policy Statement and the guiding policy , Places to Grow, was introduced around 2005 and 2006. Springwater from its 9 settlement areas, identified Elmvale, Hillsdale and Midhurst as obvious places to grow, as there were some core infrastructures and services already in place. For some reason Elmvale and Hillsdale developed settlement areas that, depending on density, would accommodate growth of about 2 to 3 times their size over the next 40 or 50 years. No one seems to be able to say why but Midhurst added about 2,000 acres from the Old Second in the East to Wilson Drive in the West for future development and depending on density would allow a 10 fold increase in population. The Midhurst area in my opinion became a target for land speculators and developers as they had exhausted the lands around the GTA and moved north. If you are a conspiracy buff you might want to check who was on Council at the time around in the late 90’s and which lands became part of this new Midhurst expanded settlement area.

It is worthy to note that the Ontario Places to Grow Policies, because of the “wild west” approach to residential development in Simcoe County at the time, developed growth forecasts to control growth.  Springwater, in 2006, was projected to grow to about 25,000 people or about 6,500 more people by 2031 or a 25 year time frame. Simcoe County sprawl was so bad and eating up so much good agricultural land the Province even added a special section to the Places to Grow called the Simcoe Sub Area. The Province recognized the same major loss of good farmland had occurred in the Southern York Region area and they wanted to stop that in Simcoe County before it was too late. The land developers saw an opportunity with the wide expanse of land deemed to be in the settlement expansion around Midhurst. That was the origin and start of the Mega Developments of the Midhurst Secondary Plan.

In 2008 the Springwater Council of the day approved the Secondary Plan and the future developments planned for that area. Ironically the County of Simcoe objected to the Plan as it was not consistent with neither the Provincial Places to Grow Policies nor the growth forecasts. In 2011 for some reason the County approved the MSP and it was then appealed to the OMB by the Province as it did not meet the Policies they had put in place. But then along comes Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Bob Chiarelli, who invoked the Midhurst Special Rule in 2012 and modified in 2013 which permitted the development of the first phase of up to 300 hectares (about 750 acres) and about 5,000 homes which opened the flood gates. In 2014 the OMB approved the development plans with 150 conditions to be met including a Long Term Financial Plan which was to assure the long term sustainability of such a huge development and minimize the direct impact on the existing taxpayer. There was an extensive Environmental Assessment process for the development as it was one of the first large development that did not have access to a large body of water for either the intake of fresh water or the discharge of effluent from its wastewater treatment facility. The MSP will supply its fresh water from deep wells and the wastewater effluent will discharge into Willow Creek a slow running stream that empties into the Minesing Wetlands and then Georgian Bay. Of the course the last and most important was a development agreement that protects Springwater from every possible negative impact that such a mega development might create.

This is where I will digress and express strong disagreement with the Mayor’s response to my questions at the last two Council Meetings. He stated that this Council is following the same due diligence as was the Council I led from 2014 to 2018. Our Mayor, then Deputy Mayor was appointed to the Financial Advisory Committee, which enhanced the Long Term Financial Study as the original scope was somewhat shallow in nature. When the report was received by the committee and studied by them in 2016, they recommended adoption by Council which we did. However, it was clear and understood that this was a preliminary study as the cost estimates could not be confirmed until after the EA studies were done. Just as a comparison the MSP projected infrastructure costs for Transportation, Water and Wastewater was $119 million in 2009 but when the EA was submitted in 2018, it had grown to about $330 million. I believe the number that was used in the preliminary study was about $150 million, so how could that be considered meeting the requirements of the OMB conditions as it was based on incorrect information? I do question the recent advancement approvals prior to a valid Long Term Financial Plan and more Importantly a bullet proof Development Agreement which are still not complete. You must decide, “Is that really practicing due diligence”? The development of the 700 home Stone Manor Woods development had all the boxes checked before it proceeded in 2015 as a comparison.

Do I believe that the MSP can ever be stopped? The simple answer is no, but it should also not be fast tracked as the consequences are far too severe. As I stated when campaigning in 2014, Springwater Council could not stop or modify the development, as the Council of 2008 had approved it and it would be acting in bad faith if a current Council reversed that decision and would be subject to a law suit. However, I did promise to raise the growth concern and issues with Minister Ted McMeekin at the time and both the now Mayor, who was Deputy at the time,  and I met with Minister McMeekin and his key staff asking them to re-evaluate the MSP because of some major concerns and conflicts with their Growth Plan and left it in his hands. But I am sure the pressures from outside the legislation made sleeping dogs lie and a polite letter from Minister McMeekin suggested they would not interfere with the process that was in play. With that in mind we simply ensured that all the I’s were dotted and T’s crossed as we proceeded. So contrary to the Mayor’s prepared response at the meetings where I posed questions,  I am not convinced the same diligence is being followed and there is now a rush to get shovels in the ground, so there is not even a question about the MSP at the next Municipal Election.

Remember Springwater has had the most controlled and ideal growth of any local rural municipality to date. It has averaged anywhere from 100 to about 300 or about 2 to 3% growth in new homes a year for about a decade which makes managing the growth and servicing quite manageable. The largest development to date, as noted above, has been in the Stone Manor developments in Centre Vespra with about 700 homes and about 2,000 new residents being built over what will be about a 7 year time frame and it has been able to be assimilated well. There is quite a difference between that development and the first wave of up to 3,850 homes or about 12,000 people in the MSP over a similar time frame.

For those that have asked, I doubt I will be back to fight the battle on your behalf, but everyone in Springwater, regardless of where you live, needs to be vigilant and hold this Council’s feet to the fire or you will be paying the price for many decades if growth is not managed properly from the top. If you don’t believe me, just check out the negative financial impacts of rapid urban sprawl development in York Region and closer to home Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil.

I know some find my thoughts abrasive and confrontational and I am sorry about that. Please remember these are my thoughts and I am not asking you to agree. I respect your freedom of expression and encourage you to SPEAK UP, before that freedom is taken from us!!

Leadership Void on Springwater Council? You decide.

After a hiatus, I am back. Since I have been asked, and prompted by a few people, I have decided to put forth my two cents worth. I was also not impressed by the Mayor’s sarcastic response to my question at the last Council Meeting or his vile response to a question from a Midhurst resident who also questioned why Council would even be considering downsizing when the Township is growing. I think the Mayor’s true colours and temperament are surfacing.

How’s this for an unfiltered start, “My opinion is that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor you elected (I didn’t vote for either!) together could not come up with a new idea that would benefit the residents of Springwater in any real way, if their life depended on it.” They both seem to be of that new generation of elected officials who like the position and will do their utmost to protect it but, for the most part, act as security guards and rubber stamp staff driven initiatives. Don’t get me wrong, many staff generated ideas are quite good, so that comment is not intended to be an insult to Township management or staff. During my four years as Mayor, we got the job done with a vibrant collaborative Council working cooperatively (not always agreeing but not polarized as today) but Council was driving the bus and moved the township forward in many ways. Times have changed in two years. By way of an analogy, if our current Mayor and Deputy Mayor had been on the Titanic they would be gleefully rearranging the deck chairs rather than trying to get people into the lifeboats.

I would like to address two examples recently where the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were two peas in a pod on matters that should have all residents questioning their motives. It also brings into question their leadership abilities.

The first was the Delegation of Power to the CAO at the start of the Pandemic. There was absolutely no reason to do such a thing and few municipalities took that route. For a Council to relegate its function to a senior staff member showed a total lack of leadership on the part of both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor in a time of crisis. It appears they wanted to distance themselves from anything that might go wrong. Its their job to guide the ship in stormy waters, not abandon it or pass it off to the harbour master. At first, I somewhat excused them for this lapse in judgement as it somewhat appears, by their actions, that neither have worked in a real world challenge or crisis, but when things settled down, it took a new Councillor from Ward 4 to table a motion to rescind the delegation. Guess who argued strongly against it? The Mayor and Deputy Mayor wanted the Delegation to stay in place, and their arguments, if you watch the Council meeting, were less than impressive. The Deputy Mayor suggested it was an example of strong leadership. Not sure what planet she lives on. It took the leadership of two new and two veteran Councillors to bring back control to Council. I felt sorry that before the vote, the CAO, who had been delegated the authority, made a passioned plea that he would like to see a unanimous resolution, one way or the other instead of a split decision. Thank God, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, to avoid looking like morons, voted with the rest of Council to give authority back to the Council members we all elected to lead and guide the Township in good times and bad. The point is that the returning control of the Township to Council should have been initiated by one of the Heads of Council, not a new Councillor.

Let’s face it, we are in the midst of this terrible pandemic, but our Two Heads of Council are just going through the motions and don’t seem to get it. At the Council meeting earlier this month, the Deputy Mayor put a motion forward, which would have been a waste of time and tax dollars, having staff review and investigate the possibility of changing our ward system to Councillors at large and possibly reducing the Council from 7 members to 5 for the next election. Think about it. Since this Council is advancing the Midhurst Secondary Plan (MSP), a new smaller governance model would be ludicrous. (For those that are new to Springwater the MSP will see Midhurst and area grow to close to 30,000 from the 3,500 of today over the next 10 plus years and will become the poster child for the worst type of urban sprawl, possibly in Ontario. It will make Bramalea look like a well designed community). The point is that the township will more than double in size in the next decade or so and the brilliant mind of the Deputy Mayor supported by the Mayor thinks this is a time to consider changing the governance model that works perfectly. She probably comes from the school of “change for change sake”. The arguments against the motion were well presented by the councillors from Ward 1, 2, 4 and 5. Of course, in lock step, after these arguments were presented and those that spoke against the motion voted against it, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor still voted in favour and ended up again on the wrong side of the decision. I might also suggest to our Ward 3 Councillor, you don’t always have to vote with the Deputy Mayor. In times like these we need true leadership at the top with some vision and plan of what Springwater should look like in 5, 10 and 15 years especially when we rise from the impacts of COVID-19. The good news for all of us is that some of the new Councillors understand their responsibility, so we are at least going in a positive direction with leadership coming from the bottom up. The one positive thing that came out of the arguments on the motion was the consideration of possibly dropping the Deputy Mayor position in any governance model change. The DM position was only created to provide two members to County Council from the lower tier municipality. Since the County is considering a whole new governance model with less members, we might be able to eliminate this unnecessary DM position and replace it with more direct representation, such as another Councillor. The Deputy Mayor, as a separate position is not even recognized or required under the Municipal Act and therefore has the same power and status of a Ward Councillor anyway. Stay tuned.

Now is the time to start finding out who your Councillor really is and educate yourself, as our local Council Members, with positive ideas focused on their constituents, can make our living in Springwater either wonderful or barely tolerable. The good news is we get to decide.

Please remember these are my thoughts and I am not asking you to agree. I respect your freedom of expression and encourage you to SPEAK UP, before that freedom is taken from us!!

Bill French is a seasoned business leader with over 40 years experience and served in senior positions of International Enterprises. Bill served as Mayor of Springwater and a County of Simcoe Councillor from 2014 to 2018 and has taught business at the college level for over 15 years

Election Compliance Audit Update – "It Gets Crazier by the Day" December 2015

The article that follows this introduction was the last in a series of Three updates I wrote on my election compliance audit. I do thank the many people that have contacted me since a critical article appeared in Springwater News. You can also call me at 705-718-7031 to discuss the matter. 

Election Compliance Audit Update – "It Gets Crazier by the Day"
I am totally flabbergasted at how a simple request for an Election Compliance Audit of my 2014 Election Expenses has taken on a life of its own and is now out of control. I understand people being vindictive and petty minded, but this is beyond comprehension.

I have decided with advice from my solicitor Renatta Austin that I will not participate in a second audit of my 2014 election campaign finances without an order from a court directing me to do so.

When my solicitor informed the Township Clerk and copied the new forensic audit firm of my decision not to participate, I received an email from the new audit firm threatening a summons to appear before them if I did not agree to participate. They confirmed in the email that the Compliance Audit Committee has approved the cost of their legal representation to chase me. With no other options before me and based on the advice of my solicitor, I have launched an application to the Divisional Court to deal with the matter and challenge what has been done.

For those that may not be aware of this sad and expensive saga, here it is.

At its meeting on July 20, 2015, the Compliance Audit Committee in a 2 to 1 decision accepted the application of Dan McLean, defeated Deputy Mayor in the 2014 municipal election, to review my 2014 election campaign finances and subsequently appointed Grant Thornton LLP to conduct the audit. I acknowledged my intention to cooperate with the audit in an engagement letter from Grant Thornton to the Township of Springwater dated September 2, 2015, and I fully cooperated with the auditor and provided access to everything they requested.  The auditor reported to the Committee on September 25, 2015.
 

Grant Thornton LLP was selected by the Compliance Audit Committee and is a well-qualified firm and when questioned by my solicitor on Oct 23^rd confirmed they have conducted other Compliance Audits. This was not a new exercise or area of expertise for them. Their audit was complete and aside from some compliance issues that were noted in the Grant Thornton Audit Report, it mirrored the audit that had been conducted by Smith Lassaline from Barrie. Even with the variances my election expenditures were still about $5,000 under the spending limit.

The Committee was required to consider the auditor’s report within 30 days of receiving it and to make a decision to either commence legal proceedings against me if the report concluded that there were apparent contraventions of the Act, or to make a finding as to whether there were reasonable grounds for the application if no contraventions were found. According to my legal opinion, the Committee had no authority to reject the auditor’s report and request a new audit.

My solicitor also informs me that the Committee’s decision to adjourn the proceedings on October 23^rd was beyond the authority granted to it under section 81 of the Municipal Elections Act. Its decision to reject an audit that was favourable to me and to appoint a second auditor without any authority to do so is tantamount to audit shopping and it is contrary to the basic rules of natural justice and procedural fairness. As is reflected in the recording of the proceedings on October 23^rd, through my lawyer, I objected to the adjournment on these grounds.

The Committee has now exceeded its 30-day time limit to consider the auditor’s report and to make a decision. I will not participate in any further audits or Committee meetings with respect to my 2014 election campaign finances without direction from a court. In the absence of a court order, I will consider the matter closed.

It was confirmed by the Clerk at a recent Council meeting that the Grant Thornton audit was $13,000. I estimate the cost of a second audit to be double that since it is now a forensic audit, plus legal fees. Just for the record I am responsible to pay my own legal fees and they are mounting and now into the 5 figures. Don’t be surprised if this circus will go into the stratosphere in dollars spent by the time it is over. I hope someone files a Freedom of Information Request to find out how much money was spent by the Township to simply embarrass and harass the Mayor you elected. As the saying goes, it may be worthwhile to “follow the money”.

In closing, I publicly offer the following resolution to this mess. I ask that the Compliance Audit Committee do the honourable thing. I ask that they reconvene the meeting of Oct 23, accept the audit report from Grant Thornton (which was completed according to the letter of engagement) and then pass a motion to take no further action. That would end this unfortunate situation and stop the mounting and unnecessary legal costs for both the Township and me. I, for my part, will agree to take no action against the Township as I would prefer to focus on the job that you elected me to do. It is a sensible solution to stop the merry-go-round.

Compliance Audit Update in November of 2015

I am publishing these articles as there is  small  group of politically motivated individuals who would like to intimidate me to the point I will get fed up and either backoff  my election promises or resign. This was article Two of the series of Three articles.

The Compliance Audit Committee reconvened on October 23 to consider two matters according to the legislation.

“In accordance with Section 81(14), the Compliance Audit Committee may consider the following:

 (a) if the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of this Act relating to election campaign finances, commence a legal proceeding against the candidate for the apparent contravention;

(b) if the report concludes that the candidate does not appear to have contravened a provision of this Act relating to election campaign finances, make a finding as to whether there were reasonable grounds for the application. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 21, s. 8 (44).”

That is what I expected to happen, but it didn’t. To my surprised solicitor Jack Siegel acting for McLean the applicant, challenged the competence and the completeness of the audit and the engagement letter. Grant Thornton LLP is a well qualified firm and when questioned by my solicitor confirmed they have conducted other Compliance Audits. This was not a new exercise or area of expertise for them. Their audit was complete and aside from some minor compliance issues that I noted in my last article and were noted in the Grant Thornton Audit Report, it mirrored the audit that had been conducted by Smith Lassaline from Barrie.

Even though my solicitor Renatta Austin, a close associate of well know lawyer Peter Rosenthal, repeated a number of times that the only purpose of the October 23^rd meeting was to consider the matters above, the committee seemed swayed and questioned the Grant Thornton LLP Letter of Engagement and the Compliance Audit Report itself. The Committee has asked for a new firm by issuing an RFP and also requesting a forensic audit, which is not required by legislation. Just so you know, you are paying for these audits, as it is a Township responsibility. The Committee will reconvene within 20 days and appoint another auditor. If you are counting, that will be three audits of my election expenses. Remember, I am still well under my spending limit by close to 25% after two audits.

What is my thinking on the matter? I believe certain parties intend to cause me financial harm by various legal delay tactics. They are hoping I will roll over and play dead and in frustration resign as Mayor. That is not going to happen. I and my team worked far too hard to allow Springwater to finally be governed by people with them first in mind. I do not respond well to intimidation and have seen this type of clever legal maneuvering many times in my career. With the support of many in Springwater, I will be around when this nonsense is over and hopefully some others will be held accountable for this ill-conceived attempt at attacking my character and reputation, causing unnecessary stress on my wife and family along with my pocket book. A number of people who are appalled at this three ring circus are asking how they can help. I am thinking about that. This is all about democracy, not my election expenses. Most of the electorate chose me to be your Mayor and I plan to honour that trust.

In closing, I thank the many supporters that attended the committee meeting on October 23 and have phoned me with their words of support. It is much appreciated.

August Comments on The Compliance Audit of Bill French Election Expenses

My thoughts and comments on the Election Compliance Audit-by Bill French

I am publishing these articles as there is  small  group of politically motivated individuals who would like to intimidate me to the point I will get fed up and either backoff  my election promises or resign. This was article One of the series of Three Articles.

I had no intention of making any comment on this matter until the entire matter is resolved, but a few people have encouraged me to provide my perspective on Dan McLean’s application for a Compliance Audit of my Election Expenses. As a point of interest my election expenses were audited by an independent local firm Smith and Lassaline of Barrie. I was under the eligible spending limit by $5,000 as a point of interest or stated in another way spent about 75% of the allowable limit.

For those that were present on July 20^th and 21^st, the Elections Compliance Audit Committee, in a 2 to 1 decision, has approved a request for an independent audit of my already audited election expenses. I don’t mind the decision but it appears that some on the committee missed an important point of law that was actually submitted by Jack B. Siegel, the high profile solicitor for Dan McLean, defeated Deputy Mayor in the 2014 Municipal Election. To quote from the Lyras V. Heaps case that Siegel referenced, the judge of the Ontario Court of Justice hearing stated “In my view, where the statute requires, ‘a belief on reasonable grounds’, the jurisprudence applicable in other contexts indicates that the standard to be applied is that of an objective belief based on compelling and credible information which raises the ‘reasonable probability’ of a breach of the statute”. Mr. McLean provided no compelling or credible information, as all members of the committee agreed, but presented a number of suppositions that could not be substantiated with any hard evidence. As committee member QC Robert Barlow rightly stated in his dissenting vote “Conjecture, again is not acceptable to me in a matter of this nature” and concluded with a statement based on various cases he referenced throughout his decision, “In the end result, considering the documents, evidence and submissions of the parties and of the facts and on the law provided, I find that a contravention of section 81.1 of the Municipal Elections Act has not been proven by the Applicant (McLean) and I reject the application.”

The committee has appointed the firm of Grant Thorton LLP to conduct the audit.

I look forward to the outcome and will make more detailed comments at that time, as there are a number of other unusual circumstances that need to be brought to the public eye that relate to this matter.

Stay tuned!