Aldershot resident Tom Muir wonders if his email is being re-directed to the Office of the City Clerk

By Tom Muir

August 14th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Anne Marsden is not the only person having problems with their email going to city hall.

Let me tell you about my experience with the email I send to city hall.

On January 3, 2023 I sent an email to Kevin Arjoon, the Clerk, Tim Commisso, City Manager, Nancy Shea-Nicol, and Blake Hurley, Legal, and other Senior Managers in Burlington City.

An edited part follows to show the essence of my comment point here regarding the fate of this email, and whether all of these people are getting their mail. It is something previously sent to the Integrity Commissioner and City Council.

January 3 2023

“I should have copied the Clerk and Legal on this correspondence to the Integrity Commissioner and Council earlier, but I did not expect the bad experience I have had.

I am sending this material and information to you because I don’t know where else to send it at City, and I feel your responsibilities as Senior Staff make these issues part of your responsibilities and purview.

I have read the City web pages on Transparency and Accountability, including the City Citizen Engagement Charter among other things.

Tom Muir at a community meeting asking questions about a development application.

I note that the City says – “The City of Burlington is committed to maintaining transparency in our information and accountability in our processes.”

On the role of the Integrity Commissioner, the City says – “The role of the IC is to support the City’s ethical framework and enforce the Code of Good Governance. They provide guidance on various ethical codes and policies and investigate potential breaches of the Code.”

The following correspondence of mine provides evidence in my opinion indicating breaches of transparency, accountability, ethics and breaches of the Code that are relevant to the duties of the Clerks office as overseer of procedure and the written Codes of Conduct. This was previously sent to the Integrity Commissioner and Council.

“1. The following Investigation procedure contained in the City Code of Good Governance page 7 of 9, was not followed by the Integrity Commissioner:

Investigation

If the Integrity Commissioner determines that a formal investigation is required he or
she shall proceed in the following manner, subject to the Integrity Commissioner’s
ability to elect to exercise the powers of a commissioner under Parts I and II of the
Public Inquiries Act:

• The Integrity Commissioner shall provide a copy of the complaint and any
supporting materials to the member whose conduct is in question with a request
that a written response to the allegation be provided to the Integrity Commissioner
within ten days

• The Integrity Commissioner shall provide a copy of the response provided by the
member to the complainant with a request for a written reply within ten days.”

I did not receive the response of the Councillor.

Tom Muir

I think this a serious contravention of the Code, and not keeping with the tenets of procedural fairness that Integrity Commissioner cited for providing the Councillor with my evidence. With respect to me, it amounts to the withholding of evidence that the procedural order specified as required.

The Councillor was provided with all my complaint evidence, but I was provided with none of his response. That is obviously not procedural fairness as the Code says.I asked for but did not receive any acknowledgement of receipt from the Integrity Commissioner or Council or the Clerk or any Party, nor did anyone respond.

So, nobody responded and so, apparently, nobody is responsible, transparent  and accountable no matter what the City says is Policy.

Like the case of Anne Marsden, did any of the Senior and Responsible staff  on my mailing list not get my mailing directly?”

The Clerk is first,  as he has the responsibility and duty to respond to my point of enforcing the procedural rules of the City and the Codes of Conduct. His Office also pays the bills for the Integrity Commissioner.

I have tried to communicate with Councillor Galbraith but he sent me a message telling me flatly, with no foundation at all, that I will receive no further communication from his office.

I wrote the Mayor asking her if she was going to allow this as it transparently violated any number of the City Code policies, and Engagement Charter, Provincial polices on Councillor duties, the Councillor’s Oath of Office, and so on in common sense, shared by many friends.

The Mayor responded that the Councillor could limit interactions with someone when “deemed necessary”, but with no elaboration, allowing it to be arbitrary. I searched for any City documentation, looking for where it was written what “deemed necessary” meant, and what grounds described it, but I could not find anything.

The bottom line is: The Clerk did not respond to me regarding this failure by the Integrity Commissioner to follow this written procedure in the Code of Good Governance, and did not provide any transparency or accountability in response of explanation of this Integrity Commissioner failure and its previous failure to acknowledge my message raising it..

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

Further, the City Manager was copied, as were Senior Legals, and other Senior Managers with related purviews in my opinion. They stood down. The Mayor was sent this, but was silent on the procedural issue of the Integrity Commissioner.

As I said, nobody appears to be transparent or accountable for even an explanation of my issue, or my legitimate message and request for action on what is a certain and exclusive duty of the Clerk. with a certain presumption of oversight by the City Manager.that her

“In the Marsden story the City Clerk stated that her emails to Councillors and staff are diverted to the Clerk’s Office.  

The reason, he claims, is so the emails can be properly actioned!”

I have to ask, was my email here diverted?

City Clerk Kevin Arjoon

Arjoon has failed to respond to what I saw as actioning his most basic duty – enforcing the procedural rules.

It looks like I am totally throttled from any communication however legitimate it appears to be, even regarding a fully legitimate and procedural regulated City public process under the oversight of the City Clerk.

It looks like Anne may be too.