What Oshawa City CouncilDidn't Want You To Hear!

Here is a presentation I was scheduled to make to city council at their March 3, 2008 meeting…but a surprise motion by Councillor Kolodzie seconded by Councillor Nicholson and supported by all in attendance except for Councillors Lucyk and Mariempietri…Councillors Cullen, Neal, and Parkes were absent. The motion, to accept my request to speak for information only and thus denying me the right to speak, is surprising since it was obviously organized and planned prior to the city council meeting, this despite the fact that the law says all city business is to be done in public at the council meeting. I know this strategy to once again deny public information was planned ahead of time because Councillor Nicholson told me of the strategy during the break after which I was to present my delegation.

So Here’s the presentation city politicians didn’t want you to hear.


Bill Longworth Presentation Scheduled for City Council re F&A Agenda Item FA08-36, Monday, March 3, 2008


Mayor and Council

Conflict of interest is the most serious misdemeanor of elected citizens

There are suggestions and allegations of a conflict of interest in respect of the city purchase of the Cullen Garden Miniatures.

I’m here tonight to ask you to propose a resolution of council to launch an inquiry under section 274 (1) of the Ontario Municipal Act to look into this matter….and I would ask that you have a recorded vote on this issue.



Now I’m not going to mention the names of politicians involved tonight…but you all know what I’m referring to

The public have put you in a position of public trust…and you have an obligation to the public to insure that we have an honest and transparent city council that acts with integrity

You have a responsibility to Oshawa citizens and to the politician involved to look into this serious matter of allegations of conflict of interest

Sweeping these allegations under the rug by doing nothing reflects poorly on every member of council and raises serious questions about your service in the interests of Oshawa taxpayers.

The finance and admin committee has recommended that you not take action in this issue…chiefly at the urging of the involved politician who was the only one to speak for inaction at the committee when it met on Feb. 25…which in my estimation is itself a conflict of interest.

I believe inaction in this matter is irresponsible and in fact damaging to Oshawa City Council since this purchase was one of the more incredulous actions out of a number of controversial actions taken by this city council…which has seemed to have been heavy handed and ham fisted at times.

You have nothing more important than the public trust in all of you’re actions and so I’m asking you to launch a judicial inquiry of any potential conflict of interest in the Cullen Gardens Miniatures purchase by a resolution of this council under Section 274(1) of the Municipal Act.

Such an action is required to

1) Assure citizens that politicians are indeed acting in the best interests of the citizens,

2) Clear any politician’s reputations that have been besmirched by allegations of conflict of interest

3) Assure citizens that we have an honest and uncompromised city government that acts with integrity in the best interests of citizens, and

4) Assure citizens that the council is self-policing and does not require external public supervision to insure honesty and integrity.

If you fail to act, it is then up to citizens themselves to initiate and fund action under the conflict of interest act which is a travesty of the public trust placed in you to supervise the honesty and integrity of your own behavior.

It seems grossly unfair that individual citizens should have to use their own time and effort and funds to insure honest government

So failure to act as I’m requesting under Section 274(1) of the Municipal Act reflects negatively on every member of council in raising questions of public trust in the minds of every citizen…and questions of what else is being hidden from the public….like information about the general vote plebiscite when the mayor said city hall had no responsibility to communicate plebiscite information to the public.

So council, Pass a resolution of council to launch a judicial inquiry under Section 274(1) of the Municipal Act in respect of the Cullen Gardens Miniatures purchase and lets put any questions of conflict of interest to rest…and provide a full motion of confidence to the named member if that is appropriate…and the full sanctions of the law if that is justified