Richmond Hill council fires another integrity commissioner, seeking replacement

The commissioner threw out most of the complaints in his first annual report last October

Yorkregion.com
March 24, 2021

The City of Richmond Hill is looking for a new integrity commissioner, who would become the third one to hold the position since 2019.

The decision came after council voted at a special meeting March 10 to terminate the contract with Investigation Counsel, a Toronto-based law firm.

The new commissioner will replace Norman J. Groot, who represented Investigation Counsel to advise council on ethical issues and investigate breaches of the code of conduct.

Groot was appointed to the position in December 2019 following the dismissal of his predecessor Deborah Anschell, representing ADR Chambers Inc.

With no formal experience in the field, Groot is the founder and principal of the legal services provider with a focus on fraud and debt recovery litigation.

During his services in the city for the past one year and four months, Groot received a record number of cases about council conduct and made recommendations on only one complaint filed against Coun. Tom Muench last August.

The commissioner threw out most of the complaints in his first annual report last October, noting that he “likely does not have the jurisdiction” to investigate.

“Why spend all that time and money investigating and hours talking to people making complaints if you had no jurisdiction in the first place? Just for show or to make people believe they have some impact when they really don’t,” said resident Linda Herriott, whose complaint against Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli was dismissed.

Among the 25 complaints Groot received in 2019, 21 of them were linked to misconduct at council or committee meetings.

The complaints included the 22 cases left behind Anschell when she was terminated halfway through a contract.

The annual report met with criticism from the residents who were concerned about what was described as “high level of animosity and interpersonal conflict” among councillors in Richmond Hill.

With Groot’s departure, all current matters are being put on hold until a new integrity commissioner is appointed, according to spokesperson Kathleen Graver.

Resident Pat Pollock said she was pleased to see a change of the city's integrity commissioner because Groot didn't have previous experience.

“I want to be listened to, I want my testimony related to the conditions of the Code of Conduct and I want the decision by the IC to be based on factual information from all sides,” she said.

But Pollock also noted that she had doubt about the whole process of integrity commissioner since it is at council's discretion whether to accept the recommendations from the commissioner.

Richmond Hill council has both overruled recommendations and imposed their own sanctions in the past.

Integrity commissioners are required for all municipalities in Ontario.

The services come with a sizable price tag in Richmond Hill -- on the public’s dime.

In 2020, the city paid Groot about $55,000 for the services provided by Investigation Counsel, more than $20,000 over budget.

The year before, the city paid a total of $64,500 for the services provided by Anschell, who received 14 complaints and completed nine of them during her tenure in Richmond Hill.

That's almost double the annual budget of $33,000 the city set aside for the service that year.

Groot said in his October report that the “excessive spending” of his predecessor was a result of a misunderstanding of the role and jurisdiction of the integrity commissioner.

Richmond Hill is expected to receive applications for its next integrity commissioner until April 4 at 4 p.m.

The integrity commissioner will not be an employee of Richmond Hill and will be required to enter into a service contract with the city, according to the online job posting.