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O’Shaughnessy witnessed continuous neglect of Ontario Municipal Act
FORMER: Continued from Page 2
not because of cost, but because I had be- come convinced that the city of Cornwall was guilty. The city of Cornwall pleaded guilty to a statement of facts and none of those facts were related to cost,”he said, referring to the
camera sessions on a regular basis because he was not comfortablemaking decisions af- fecting taxpayers without all the information necessary to make a proper decision. “In April, May and June of 2011 I began walking out of closed sessions and refused
in my political career. After receiving court documents relating to the court proceed- ings council began another round of closed door meetings. During these meetings I wit- nessed continuous neglect of the Ontario Municipal Act, direction given by council not followed, and direct political and adminis- trative interference occurred pertaining to motions passed by council,” O’Shaughnessy said. Another damning accusation by O’Shaughnessy was that mail addressed to him had been intercepted by someone at city hall and never handed over to him. “In December of 2010 I was made aware that an envelope addressed to me was dropped off at city hall, and was withheld at the direction of another council member. I later learned that this happened twice. Sub- sequent to this event, I received a copy by email,”he said. As serious as some of O’Shaughnessy’s complaints are, the former councillor makes it clear in his statement that his comments reflect his own personal understanding of “accountability” and “transparency” and that he is not calling into question the commit- ment of his former colleagues to the people of Cornwall.
O’Shaughnessy released a more detailed explanation this morning about why he left council because he believes the work initiat- ed in camera is either completed or reached a sufficient stage to allow him to release his statement. “As most are aware, I resigned my position as an electedmember of city council on April 10, 2012. On April 4, 2012 I met with the city solicitor to outline my reasons for my un- timely departure and to explainmy concerns for the way the people’s business was being conducted.” “At that meeting I voluntarily indicated to him that I would not make a public state- ment giving the reasons for submitting my resignation. I did this to protect the integrity of work that Council was about to begin.” In his statement, O’Shaughnessy paints a picture of a city hall which considered it- self above the law and was all too willing to spend taxpayer dollars to fight a whistle- blower charge which he believes the city should have pleaded guilty to a the outset. “Council, in a public release, indicated that it would be changing its plea to guilty be- cause of costs. I agreed to change our plea,
Shay case in which Cornwall became the first municipality ever convicted under pro- vincial whistle-blow- er legislation. O ’ S h a ughn e s s y also complained about the inordinate amount of time spent by council in closed session and the lack of information pro-
to vote on any issues that did not have ac- companying reports,” said O’Shaughnessy.
“While sitting as amember of council fromDec. 11, 2010 until April 10, 2012, I literally spent more time conducting the people’s business in closed sessions than inmeetings that were open to the public.”
“I believe that re- ports are the lifeline for council because if accountability be- comes an issue, there is a paper trail that contains the informa- tion that was used to make the decision... without supporting documentation, how can you defend that decision? In September, after meeting with a council member and a member of administration, he said he was assured that all closed door issues would be presented to council with a report and recommendation. But things did not improve. “October, November, and December was probably the most disappointing period
vided by administration to enable him to make the proper decisions for city ratepay- ers. “While sitting as a member of council from Dec. 11, 2010 until April 10, 2012, I literally spent more time conducting the people’s business in closed sessions than in meetings that were open to the public,”he said. He became so uncomfortable with the lack of proper process, he beganwalking out of in
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