Back in 2017, councils across the province were compelled to establish a code of conduct.
At the time it was seen as a way to encourage manners, essentially. That it came about during the Wynne years and had a school board feel to it was not a surprise.
The adoption of rules of conduct and installation of integrity commissioners followed. No one can definitively say government got better or conduct improved, but the Ford government is poised to add another layer with updated rules. The new set will give councils the option to kick a councillor from their seat. And despite the obvious benefit of cancelling a rabble rouser, it flies in the face of true democracy.
Locally, the county had one complaint in 2021 and a recent one in 2025 was pulled back before it proceeded. Centre Wellington staff indicated a handful of complaints filed since 2023 and a resultant cost closing in on $90,000. Realistically, the cost associated with these complaints is a rounding error for local budgets, but these are still funds better spent on public needs, not the system. We find it farcical.
Time? Well, that doesn’t factor into these numbers, but rest assured, for the accused and those in their circle it is a total waste of time.
Please don’t mistake our opinion as an endorsement for brutish behaviour or a wish that councils devolve into nasty banter. On the contrary. But there are other ways, tried and true methods, that work without enabling the bureaucratic nature of investigations and professionals who profit from that work.
A capable chairperson has means to handle these instances without complex rules and the associated financial burden. Giving the public or a protestor with a bee in their bonnet a free-ride tattle-tale session makes little sense to us. Most egregious however is the option of anonymity.
While the right to face an accuser is a little melodramatic, the politicians involved should know who their accuser is. In speaking with some people caught in this web, that was the most frustrating part – dealing with cowards unwilling to attach their name to a complaint.
Amping this act up to allow councils to remove a colleague is not right. Criminal acts can run through the justice system as they always have in the past. Civil suits can happen too, but having councillors vote against each other is a bad precedent in our books. Just as electing someone is a right voters undertake, so should be the dismissal.
It’s time for the province to give up on this waste of time and turn accountability back to the people.
Seeking God
In recent weeks we’ve had conversations on something we found quite interesting. It had to do with God. Congregations across the county have dwindled for the most part in recent years. Some denominations are more active than others, but generally older demographics with few young people have meant churches had to close.
Societal change, more flexible belief systems and so on, have seen many shy away from religion. Some have chosen an atheist approach. Some families are indifferent to church. And still others have maintained their religious connection as a focal point of their life. Immigration has meant an influx of those with beliefs that are foreign to Christians who have lived here for generations.
Regardless, we were pleasantly surprised lately talking to parents of two young male teens. Despite being raised in a good home with Christian values (even though they don’t call it that) and not attending church, both of their boys asked recently about God.
This indicates to us that as much as things have changed, young people are still seeking information on things much larger than themselves. The quest for spirituality and values hits people at different stages of their lives. This past summer both boys felt an awakening of sorts.
Rules and principles are guardrails for good living. We believe the underlying message is that young people crave leadership and mentorship from those around them. They are seeking answers – let’s help them with that.
