February 3rd, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
On January 27, 2020, The Burlington Gazette wrote and published an article related to a matter before the Burlington City Council. The article’s headline read “Private sector planner pushed the acceptable boundaries a little too far – Mayor offended”.
In the body of the article, The Burlington Gazette named Glenn Wellings as the Planner referred to in the headline and reported that he had sent a letter directly to a consultant hired by the City of Burlington, rather than to City of Burlington staff. While the body of the article stated that in doing so Mr. Wellings “appeared“ to have crossed the line of acceptable limits of the profession, the headline contained no such qualifying language.
The article also contained a reference to another individual – Sean Baird – who faced criminal charges relating to attempting to influence an election. The Burlington Gazette was in no way suggesting a parallel between the two individuals or that Mr. Wellings’ actions were of a criminal nature.
The Burlington Gazette acknowledges that Mr. Wellings is a member in good standing at the Ontario Professional Planning Institute, which maintains strict ethical standards. The Burlington Gazette is not aware of any complaint having been made in respect of this conduct to the Ontario Professional Planning Institute, or of any finding of misconduct.
The Burlington Gazette acknowledges that the article may have been misconstrued as indicating otherwise.
