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Family ties force Vaughan councillor to declare multiple conflicts

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 3, 2015
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Veteran councillor Mario Ferri has bowed out of discussions and votes - due to the fact he may have a conflict of interest - far more times than any of his city council colleagues.

It has happened so often some of his colleagues have even started joking about it.

But for Ferri, and others, this is no laughing matter.

Under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, councillors are prohibited from participating in discussions or votes on matters where they or their family members have a direct or indirect financial interest.

Since taking office last December, the local and regional councillor has - “out of an abundance of caution” - declared a conflict of interest in 26 agenda items, according to documentation provided by the City of Vaughan.

That’s only counting items raised at Vaughan committee of the whole meetings and council meetings not the myriad other committees councillors sit on or vote on at the Region of York, where he also sits.

By comparison, Deputy Mayor Michael Di Biase has the second-highest number of declarations at 13.

The vast majority of items in which Ferri has declared a conflict relate to major land-use planning issues such as determining what types of development are allowed and where.

The primary reason is that his son, Steven, is a lawyer at Loopstra Nixon LLP, which represents clients involved in these matters.

Steven is an associate working in the municipal, land use planning and development law group at the firm, where he’s been employed since 2010, according to Loopstra Nixon’s website.

In another instance, Ferri declared a conflict because a matter up for discussion could impact Vaughan-based homebuilder Poetry Living where his other son, Michael, works.

To date, Ferri has declared a conflict in matters which his son is directly involved in as a lawyer representing a client as well as when other lawyers from Loopstra Nixon are involved.

“Given the importance of government transparency and accountability, I have declared a conflict of interest out of an abundance of caution in all matters before council that I am aware affect a client or clients of Loopstra Nixon LLP,” Ferri, who was elected in 2014 following a four-year absence from council, wrote in an email response to questions posed by The Vaughan Citizen.

“I have done so because I have decided to take a precautionary approach as it is unclear whether I am actually required to declare an interest in these matters as I personally have no interest in the matters whatsoever.”

Specific matters in which Ferri has declared a conflict of interest include:

Ferri contends that while he’s declared a conflict of interest in 26 agenda items the bulk of those declarations arose from three “discreet issues:” the OMB appeals of Vaughan’s official plan, the Keele Street interim control by-law and the area known as Block 40/47.

“While council may have considered the matters several times (resulting in there being 26 agenda items), these are not individual issues,” he said.

Ferri also pointed out that some of his colleagues declared conflicts in some of these matters including the Keele Street interim control by-law and the Natural Heritage Network study.

Ferri says the OMB appeals of Vaughan’s official plan, ongoing since 2010 when he was out of office, have resulted in him declaring interests in the VMC secondary plan, the Natural Heritage Network Study and terms of settlement for appeals of the official plan.

Those three items form 11 of the 26 agenda items in which he’s declared conflicts.

Regarding Block 40/47, Ferri says Loopstra Nixon no longer has an interest in this issue, thus ending his need to declare a conflict of interest.  That item accounted for five of the 26 items in which he’s declared conflicts.

As for the Keele Street interim control by-law, which formed just one of the 26 items he declared a conflict in, Ferri says it expires in September and will no longer be considered by council.

Nonetheless, some of his colleagues have taken to making wisecracks about how often he declares a conflict of interest.

At one committee meeting, Thornhill Councillor Alan Shefman reacted with mock surprise when Ferri didn’t declare an interest on any of the matters up for discussion that day.

Ferri, however, is taking the matter very seriously.

So much so, he went to court in June seeking a ruling on a specific matter that would essentially allow him to participate in discussions or votes on matters where his son is directly involved as a lawyer representing a client and where his son isn’t directly involved, but his law firm is involved.

But the judge hearing the case ruled Ferri should declare a conflict of interest in both instances.

He’s appealing the decision.

Ferri pointed out that in a similar case the courts ruled former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman didn’t have a conflict of interest in matters affecting clients of the law firm at which his son was a partner.

If Ferri wins his appeal, the number of times he has to declare a conflict could drop dramatically.

He also noted there’s an ongoing provincial review of the Conflict of Interest Act which may impact his situation.

Regardless, Ferri says he will continue to “consider each matter independently and make the best decision I can regarding whether or not I have a duty to declare a conflict of interest.”

Speaking generally about conflicts of interest, Robert MacDermid, a political science professor at York University, said while councillors aren’t required to step down, if they’re repeatedly unable to vote on major issues then they can’t do what they were elected to do.

“I think reasonable people and voters would say that if a member has to declare a conflict of interest on repeated important votes, then they can’t do the job of representing constituents,” he said. “Anyone who has these multiple conflicts can’t be representing the interests of citizens...and they can’t do that job properly.”

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua defended Ferri’s approach to the matter.

“Mr. Ferri is doing what he needs to do to protect the integrity of the system and himself. I am sure that he would prefer to vote on these important files, but given the present reality, he feels he can’t.”

Asked if he would resign if he winds up having a conflict of interest in several major issues being considered by city council, Ferri said:

“I am not going to step down because I have followed my responsibilities under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, as I am required to do, on a very small percentage of the matters before council - most of which have concluded and will no longer be put before council or which Loopstra Nixon LLP no longer has an interest in.”

Ferri added that residents he’s spoken with have “applauded the fact that I am open and honest and declare interests when I deem it necessary.”