- Sent by, Leandra Cameron
According to the Council Procedures Bylaw, council members would use this time to share information about events, activities, community functions attended and general work of members on behalf of constituents and the municipality. Instead, the reeve uses this forum to take issue with other people’s opinions and attempts to influence the public with his own opinion to defend his comments and those of another council member that appear in the local paper. The reeve wanted everyone to understand that his comment about being hounded by the media and Councillor Bondar’s comment that you’ve got to feed the media or they become parasitic wasn’t meant to be negative. In what other way was this meant? This situation is similar to the Day for Truth and Reconciliation discussion, where the intent was not to offend or harm. However, several councillors and the CAO made several inappropriate comments that were harmful and offensive. Learning from one’s mistakes as a public figure where your actions in public are scrutinized is not an easy concept for some, nor is the concept of following the code of ethics bylaw. The problem is not the media reporting these incidents but rather the inappropriate behaviour/comments in public meetings. When public officials are defensive about their actions and try to influence the public to accept their bad behaviour, these individuals should not be in the public eye as public officials. According to the council procedures bylaw, the reeve and council should use this forum time to report on important information, such as the board-appointed meetings and conventions they attend. If you want information on these conventions and board meetings that McKillop reeve and council have participated in during the last four years, check out RM Longaketon #219 website. Written reports are attached to the minutes every month. These reports contain relevant, interesting information you will not find in the reeve and councillor forum of McKillop meetings!
-Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of LMT. Published as-is.
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