Will we have more explanations from M. Newberry at the meeting of the council of Ile-du-Grand-Calumet on Tuesday night?
Will we have more explanations from M. Newberry at the meeting of the council of Ile-du-Grand-Calumet on Tuesday night?
Despite what the council of mayors have described as a perceived conflict of interest by Mayor Serge Newberry, he is still the representative of the municipality of L’Île-du-Grand-Calumet at the MRC Pontiac. Last week, the CHIP 101.9 newsroom looked at the way the information is shared between the MRC Pontiac and the various municipal councils.
That was what the mayor of Île-du-Grand-Calumet, Serge Newberry, had to say to the CHIP 101.9 newsroom, when he was asked about his presence at the MRC Pontiac during the monthly Mayors council meeting last Wednesday.
Following the council of mayors adoption of two resolutions, (one of which is that MRC Pontiacs’ Warden communicate the information of what has been described as a perceived conflict of interest by Mayor Newberry to the Commission municipale du Québec), CHIP 101.9 contacted over three councillors of l’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, who said they were unaware of the nature of the events surrounding the situation and the MRC’s resolutions against Mayor Newberry.
A situation that leads to the following question: who is responsible for reporting the information from the MRC Pontiac to the municipal councillors of the 18 municipalities forming the MRC?
According to the information collected by the CHIP 101.9 newsroom, it is essentially that each of the mayors bring the information back to their council. This is the case, for example, in Campbell’s Bay where Mayor Maurice Beauregard provides a verbal report of each MRC meeting, along with the main issues that were dealt with. Same situation for L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, Fort-Coulonge, Mansfield and Alleyn-and-Cawood, where the councillors from each municipality expressed “satisfaction” with the information they have received. Also, when the MRC Pontiac sends written communications, the directors of each municipality receives the information for usual redistribution afterwards.
Some councillors from l’Île-du-Grand-Calumet, who requested to remain anonymous, said that they usually have to listen to the radio or go to the CHIP 101.9 website to find out what is going on at the MRC.
Even if the actions of the council of mayors of the MRC Pontiac towards Serge Newberry affects what is foreseen in the Quebec governments Code of ethics and deontology applicable to the elected officials, it would seem that the information concerning mayor Newberry has to be reported by Mayor Serge Newberry himself to the 6 members of l’Île-du-Grand-Calumet council and its citizens. The citizens of l’Île-du-Grand-Calumet will therefore be able to attend tomorrow’s meeting (October 22nd) and get more answers on Mayor Newberry’s version of what the Council of Mayors of the MRC Pontiac describe as a perceived conflict of interest against him.
Here are the main behaviours which usually affect complaints against elected officials at the Commission municipale du Québec.
The rules of conduct that govern the actions of the elected representative as a councillor or mayor. They may differ from one municipality to another.
The behaviours that are generally prohibited in the codes of ethics and deontology are as follows:
• Promote oneself personally or favours a company in which one holds interests;
• Abusively promotes another person;
• Be influenced by a gift or benefit received;
• Use resources of the municipality for personal purposes;
• Disclose confidential information;
• Take advantage of being elected after the end of his term;
• knowledge of placing oneself in a conflict of interest.
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Réactions du promoteur Joe Kowalski
