Changes to how Pelee Island will deal with integrity complaints.
This follows Pelee Island's integrity commissioner report brought forward to council last week that raised concerns that the integrity process could be misused.
"We have to be cautious that our Integrity process is not weaponized for political purposes. This was, and is, a real concern," Bruce P. Elman wrote in his report.
The role of the integrity commissioner is ensure ethical conduct among municipal officials, with their primary functions including:
Between July 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024, the commissioner reviewed three complaints under the Code of Conduct and three requests for inquiries under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (MCIA), alleging a councillor had violated the act.
Mayor Cathy Miller says Elman's report showed he dismissed all complaints.
"Some of the complaints that he had received in his work with the Township of Pelee were over 100 pages in length, that they were voluminous, that they took a lot of time and energy for him to work through, so we appreciate that he did it, but I think as a result he's made some recommendations that we establish some policies that try to support his work," Miller said.
"All of these Files - both Complaints and Requests - were very complicated, with many varied sub-Complaints, and the supporting material quite voluminous. The lengthier and more complex the Complaint/Request, the greater the expenses incurred by the Township," Elman wrote.
Miller says integrity complaints are completely anonymous and the mayor, nor council, are made fully aware of the contents.
"The role of the integrity commissioner is to actually receive those complaints, work through them, and then if the integrity commissioner has questions about anything contained therein, then they reach out to us for clarifying questions, but the nature of the content, the length, or the complete complaint are not made aware to us," she said.
The integrity commissioner brought forward a number of recommendations, and Miller says they were adopted by council at the May 13 meeting.
"For example, might limit every complaint this is received to one complaint per complaint, so there's not multiple sub-complaints in a very lengthy document," she said. "I think he alluded to assigning a nominal fee per complaint, and that if the complaint is productive it might be refunded."
Elman ended his report by stating, "The year got quieter as it progressed. This should be seen as a positive development.".