George Rust-D’Eye named city's new lobbyist registrar and integrity commissioner


Cbc.ca
March 30, 2015

A municipal law expert once retained by Rob Ford when he was the beleaguered mayor of Toronto is Hamilton's new integrity commissioner and lobbyist registrar.

George Rust-D’Eye, former chief solicitor for Metro Toronto, will start his one-year term as Hamilton’s municipal watchdog on May 1. Rust-D’Eye is a municipal lawyer who has acted as integrity commissioner for numerous municipalities.

Ford retained Rust-D’Eye in 2013 to advise him when Toronto city council stripped the then-mayor of many of his powers.

Rust-D’Eye steps into a role that’s recently been subject to scrutiny and debate. He’ll be the first lobbyist registrar in a city that debated for seven years whether it should even have a lobbyist registry.

And as integrity commissioner, he takes over from Earl Basse, whose work came under scrutiny earlier this year for his report about a councillor grabbing an independent journalist at city hall. On Twitter, Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin compared Basse’s report to the work of a third grader.

The councillor in question, Lloyd Ferguson, was on the hiring panel for Rust-D'Eye's job, but stepped down on March 4 as a way of sanctioning himself in the wake of the shoving incident.

Basse has “decided to step down early” to let Rust-D’Eye help get the lobbyist registry up and running, the city said in a media release.

Basse will make sure pending reports are done and submitted before April 30, it said.

Lobbyist registry to cost $115k per year

Rust-D’Eye will serve in the position for a one-year term. The lobbyist registry is set to take effect on Aug. 1.

The registry will cost up to $100,000 to implement, then about $115,000 per year to operate. The city currently pays its integrity commissioner an $18,000 annual retainer ($1,500 per month) and a rate of $150 per hour, for an annual cost of about $50,000. The lobbyist registrar gets a $7,000 annual retainer. Staff also estimated about 100 hours of work at $150 per hour, which would be about $22,000 per year.

Rust-D’Eye has previously served as integrity commissioner for Kingston and Niagara, among other Ontario municipalities. He has also served as a solicitor for Metropolitan Toronto and counsel to numerous other Toronto boards.

He drafts codes of conduct and advises on bylaws and other aspects of municipal government, his website says.

City council will ratify Rust-D'Eye’s appointment on April 8.