Brampton city councillor to file ethics complaint against herself

Thestar.com
Dec. 11, 2019
Graeme Frisque

Wards 7 and 8 Brampton Coun. Charmaine Williams says she plans to file a complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner -- against herself.

In a media release Dec. 9, Williams said the unusual move is in response to recent allegations she hired her former campaign manager as office staff, but paid him as a consultant through a loophole in council’s political staffing model.

“Williams, (who) was recently under fire for hiring Rob Davis and Associates Inc. to provide services to her office, maintains she followed the spirit and the letter of the rules governing council expenditures,” the release from Williams read.

“I will file an Integrity Commissioner complaint against one Brampton City Councillor -- me,” she added.

At its Nov. 20 committee meeting, council voted to change the rules governing councillors’ use of consultants. This after it was discovered Williams had filed three invoices totalling about $21,000 for consulting services from Davis, who was found to be performing duties usually reserved for internal city or council employees.

Fellow Wards 7 and 8 Coun. Pat Fortini first raised transparency and security concerns at a September governance and council operations committee meeting, adding the invoices submitted didn’t include any description of the work performed.

“We just stopped the (use of) consultants, that’s all. She was doing this and it’s not accountable and it’s not transparent. That’s why we did it,” said Fortini in an interview. “He’s a consultant and uses her office and her computer. We have in-camera stuff and he had access to all of it. That’s what concerns us.”

Fortini added consultants aren’t bound by the same codes of conduct as employees, who must swear an oath to protect sensitive city and resident information.

Council implemented a new political staffing model earlier this year, increasing from one to two the number of office assistants each councillor is allowed. The change will cost more than $1 million.

While the new model included a budget for consultants, Wards 3 and 4 Coun. Martin Medeiros said it was never intended to be used for additional office staff.

“Technically, did she do something wrong? No,” he said earlier this month. “(But she) decided to go against the spirit and intent of the political model … to try to pull a fast one and get that third person in instead of using what their allocation was.

“Ultimately, she’s going to have to answer to her residents,” added Medeiros.

Williams called the allegations “fictional stories,” adding her reasoning for filing an ethics complaint against herself is in hopes of making the integrity commissioner’s findings public.

“Drive-by smears are tools used by those with small minds. Brampton taxpayers deserve better than that. By filling my complaint, I’m giving taxpayers a chance to have an unbiased third-party determine that the accusations are outright lies.

“For some reason, my accusers don’t have the guts to launch a formal complaint. So I am doing it for them,” said Williams. “Taxpayers in Brampton deserve to hear the truth, as opposed to the fictional stories being perpetrated by other councillors."