Mississauga selects new Integrity Commissioner

Principles Integrity will be City Hall watchdog

Mississauga.com
June 21, 2017
By Rachael Williams

Principles Integrity, a newly formed partnership composed of retired civil servants, has been appointed integrity commissioners for the City of Mississauga.

Principles Integrity is owned and operated by Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski.

Abrams has over thirty years experience in the public sector. A law graduate from the University of Windsor, Abrams served as the City of Vaughan’s city clerk for nearly nine years. Prior to that, he was deputy regional clerk for York Region.

Petkovski is a graduate of Queen’s University and Osgoode Hall law school. She served as the solicitor for the City of Hamilton from 2013 to 2017. She was also commissioner of legal and administrative services and solicitor at the City of Vaughan for six years. Petkovski spent the first 15 years of her career with the City of Brampton, from 1989 to 2004, as director of litigation and administrative law.

“Both of its principals have devoted their entire careers to public service and collectively have experience serving at the local, single-tier, regional and provincial government levels,” said Pat Saito, ward 9 councillor and chair of the city's governance committee.

Abrams and Petkovski will share the responsibility of encouraging and sustaining a culture of transparency and accountability at city hall. This includes overseeing the council code of conduct, conducting expense reviews and ensuring compliance with rules and procedures governing the ethical behaviour of the mayor and members of council.

“Both have abundant training and experience in law, municipal government, governance, ethical behaviours, investigations, coaching and legislative drafting," said Mississauga's city solicitor Mary Ellen Bench.

Principles Integrity is replacing Robert Swayze, a 40-year veteran in municipal law, whose contract is set to end on June 30.

Swayze remains the watchdog for Peel Region.