Town cleared on ‘secret meeting’ charge

NE Councillor Skippen apologizes for circulating allegations

by Lindsay Kelly
NORTHEAST TOWN-Northeast Town council got the apology it wanted from Councillor Paul Skippen this week, just as the Ontario Ombudsman ruled that council did not hold a secret meeting on November 5.

The ombudsman received complaints of an inappropriate meeting taking place in council chambers following a regular committee meeting, and launched an investigation that involved interviews with town staff and council members.

However, the ruling decided that “no discussions were held which furthered the business of the town, and therefore no meeting took place,” noted a press release.

Mayor Jim Stringer said he was pleased to see the issue resolved, suggesting that false allegations take attention away from council’s responsibilities.

“These types of unfounded accusations can undermine the community’s confidence in its leadership, and I am convinced that this never should have been referred to the ombudsman in the first place,” he said in the release. “This council has consistently shown that we are committed to development and growth in this community and it was ridiculous to have this type of accusation distracting council from our important role of moving the town forward.”

This was not the first time council found itself under the scrutiny of the ombudsman’s office. This marks the fifth time within the last four months a complaint has been lobbed against council, and in all cases, the ombudsman found no evidence to support a claim of wrongdoing.

“It is time for members of special interest groups to set aside their personal agendas and let council get on with the business of running the town,” Mayor Stringer said, adding that he appreciates the professional and thorough nature of the investigators.

Following the finding, Councillor Skippen said he accepts the ruling and expressed optimism that the town could move beyond this chapter.

“I was not the person who made the original complaint to the ombudsman group,” he said. “The ombudsman asked me for input and I followed their instructions. I accept the ombudsman’s ruling. I made my apology in an attempt to move the business of the town forward. I hope that everyone involved will accept it.”

He had, however, supported the initial allegation in an email that purported that five members of council held a meeting addressing town business, from which he and Councillor Bruce Wood were excluded. The email was brought to the attention of council, members of the public, government representatives, and several media outlets, a move that council deemed slanderous, and for which it demanded an apology.

At last week’s council meeting, a war of words erupted after Councillor Skippen said that, in the interest of harmony amongst council members, he would meet the terms of the motion that council passed demanding an apology.

“I would like to inform council that I have called (Municipal Affairs and Housing representative) Ben Horner,” he said. “He made it clear that I don’t have to adhere to any motions made at the last council meeting, but I would like to clear the air and I apologize to council.”

The Ward 4 councillor said he had prepared a statement to submit to council, noting that it would be emailed to members of council, staff, and the people who had been sent the original email.

“I apologize for having distributed an email on November 6 alleging wrongdoing on the part of council,” he read from his statement.

The wording of that mea culpa didn’t entirely satisfy Councillor Al MacNevin, who led the original charge for an apology. He wanted a specific reference to the secret meeting that was alleged to have taken place and a retraction of that claim. While he agreed that Councillor Skippen was not obliged to offer an apology, he contended that any apology should include a statement that refers back to the original wording of the email.

“I want to know if he still believes that we held a secret meeting on November 5 because that’s what he said in his email,” Councillor MacNevin said.

“It means any wrongdoing,” Councillor Skippen retorted. “I don’t know what else you did in there, quite honestly. I apologize, I did what you want, and if you want to make another motion, go ahead. Next week I’ll apologize for something else. I’ve already apologized and you know what it means like everyone else here.”

Dissatisfied with that response, Councillor MacNevin asked him a second time whether he still believed a secret meeting had taken place, even after the rest of council attested that no secret meeting occurred-an important distinction since the secret meeting is the alleged wrongdoing.

Councillor Skippen avoided answering the question directly, but said he would comply with any motion council wanted him to.

“If you read the motion, I’ve complied with the motion,” he said. “I have written exactly what it says. You guys made the motion…read the motion, see if it doesn’t comply; if it doesn’t then make another motion or tell me what to do and I’ll write it a different way.”

Members of the public, and presumably supporters of Councillor Skippen, had to be called to order after Councillor MacNevin suggested accepting the motion and Councillor Skippen’s acknowledgment that there was no secret meeting.

“The apology that he’s made for wrongdoing is a statement that we held a secret meeting, so I’m suggesting that we accept that apology and him acknowledging that that is not the case,” Councillor MacNevin said. “He just asked me to word it any way I want and I’m saying this is how I want it written.”

The final motion indicated that council “accepts the apology from Council Skippen and acknowledges that there was no secret meeting held on November 5, 2009.”

Councillor Marcel Gauthier, whose comment that he was attending another meeting that evening touched off the controversy, said he respected Councillor Skippen and accepted his apology.

He suggested that council has, until this point, worked well together, and the municipality would be better served if council could refocus on the task at hand.

“We have a lot of plans and we will achieve those plans a lot better if we work together as a group,” he said. “There is going to be some friction from time to time, but I’d like to go on with more important things we have to do on this council.”

Council’s acceptance of the apology was unanimous.