The publishing of the integrity commissioner’s report into a Rideau Lakes council matter has been deferred.
Council voted 7-1 in favour to seek a third-party investigation Tuesday night.
A third-party investigation could include a special ombudsmen review or another measure deemed fair.
Councillor Paula Banks isn’t sure why people are so eager for the report to be published.
The details surrounding the investigation won’t be known until the report is published, but council members alluded to Councillor Linda Carr as being the subject of the investigation, which began just under a year ago according to Banks.
Carr has declared conflict of interest when the matter’s been brought to council on previous occasions, and has withheld from voting, and that was the case again Tuesday.
Councillor Joan Delaney was one of three sitting members in favour of publishing the report the first time around, and spoke to the apparent lack of transparency by keeping it from the public eye.
Despite her personal objections, Delaney voted in favour to seek a third party investigation prior to the report publication.
Deputy Mayor Marcia Maxwell was the only vote against Tuesday’s motion.
Mayor Arie Hoogenboom, whose been on record supporting the report’s publication and the need to follow the provincial legislation and brought the motion forward asking council to reconsider their decision at the September 3rd meeting, voted in favour of getting a second opinion, but said he feels uncomfortable being a position where they’re required to make a report public in a timely fashion and aren’t doing so.
Story by Grant Deme